A/N:

SURPRISE SURPRISE!!!

Hello everyone! I am sooooo sorry if I took forever to update. School got the best of me and I felt uninspired and stuck and I just didn't really know how to go about writing this fic.

I bet you guys forgot about this story and whatever is going on with Namsong so feel free to re-read the previous chapters! 

[Finally]

They didn't talk that much after that.

And it’s not as though they were avoiding each other. They tried to make conversation but it was more of a ramble of well-thought of phrases that ended up sounding awkward and jumbled once uttered- an exchange of words that were necessary for them to go through their lessons for the day; conversations that were less trivial, more obligatory.

They didn't talk about the girl either. 

"I'm sorry, I don't think it was right for me to have said yes to you." Taehyun says in the nicest tone he could come up with. He wanted to sound more sad, he wanted to feel more guilty, but he just couldn't, he just didn't. 

All he really wants is to go home.

The girl murmurs in an incoherent mishmash of why, okay, sorry; but Taehyun wasn't listening anymore.

He feels nothing. He bows, mouth in a frown to make it look like he at least cared but he thinks  that even at that he's doing a poor job.

"Do you-" the girl starts and stops. Her eyes were hesitant and preoccupied but Taehyun waits. That’s the least he could do. 

“-is this because of someone else?” she asks softly- her question almost a whisper. 

Taehyun doesn’t lie. He wants to say it for once, to not have to hide it for once, to not have to give off fake smiles and apprehensive responses. 

Taehyun says yes. 

“He doesn’t like me back though.” He mutters, knots forming thick and heavy in his chest. He. Taehyun thinks if it was really necessary to say that one last point. 

There were those brief moments that made Taehyun hope; instances when he would catch Mino’s gaze linger on him a little bit longer than normal, times when the boy’s eyes would crinkle in amusement whenever Taehyun said something or did something unusual; those fleeting moments where he allowed himself to think that maybe, maybe Mino did like him.

Maybe Mino did care for him a little bit more than others. Maybe Mino did find him special. 

Maybe.

He remembers that afternoon in the library when he saw the corners of Mino’s mouth twist in a frown at the mention of the word girl, dating; but the change to a delighted grin was so quick and so automatic that Taehyun believed that he might just be imagining the former. 

Mino’s voice also felt heavy and strangled, stiffly disguised to sound happy and ecstatic, but he pretended to not notice that too because his brain was too clouded by his own defeated emotions  that he feels too dented, too caved in; to trust his own perceptions. 

Taehyun wishes that love wasn't so complicated. He wishes that it was something like Math or Science; where in there were well-defined principles and theories, where in he would never go wrong if he based his decisions on one. He wishes that everything was either right or wrong, black or white; no grey areas, no what ifs, no maybes. That way, he could stop hoping. That way, he could just give up.

It feels painful to continue, feels painful to hope.

But he thinks it’s even more painful to stop. He doesn’t even know if that was an option. 

“Did something happen between you and Mino? Are you guys okay?” Jinwoo asks Taehyun one afternoon, voice soft and low, eyes big and as pretty as ever. 

“Yes but— I think I messed up.” Taehyun says through clenched teeth, feeling the weight of it all. He doesn’t notice that his hands were gripping rather firmly on a book that he was holding. “I agreed to date this girl and it was so stupid.”

Jinwoo’s confused but he nods and pats Taehyun’s back. He doesn’t ask any other questions and says, “You guys will be fine.”

Taehyun wanted to ask what kind of ‘fine’ Jinwoo meant but he keeps his mouth shut and wonders if they really will. 

It’s been a long time since Mino last visited his favorite records store. Probably because for the past few months, his afternoons were filled up with a certain someone- someone whom he can't forget, someone that kept lingering in his thoughts every now and then. 

He needs to take a grip, really.

Mino walks his way towards the far-end corner of the store- a sanctuary that he missed but at the same time didn’t (when he recalls images of droopy eyebrows, bunny teeth, and middle-parted auburn hair). He scans the stack of CDs that were placed on one of the shelves in a very disorganised way, thinking of how the muddled mess was not any different to the anxiety that was gnawing each and every part of his sanity. 

One CD caught his attention, and it reminds him again of someone. 

He really really really needs to stop. 

Mino picks up the disc nevertheless and eyes the back cover with curiosity. There was no track list, just a drawing of a banana peel on plain white paper. This makes his lips curl into a smile because of how peculiar and lazy it looks like. Reminds him of someone.

He opens the case clumsily, inserts it in the nearby CD player and puts a pair of headphones over his head. He feels a strange sense of anticipation because of reasons he cannot explain so he sets it aside. 

The song starts with the sound of the piano, silvery-toned and soothing. He has never been into soft and melancholic ballads but there was something about the first few notes that pulled him in. It was weird because it sounds awfully familiar, and the melody. The melody riddles through his senses, and he feels as if it was written for him, as if the notes—

And then he hears it.

Mino’s heart stops. He feels breathless and, and—

Nam Taehyun.

It was Taehyun and he was singing. Finally singing. And his voice was like a mantle of emotions that enveloped Mino’s entire being. It was so beautiful and different and perfect. Perfect for him. 

Mino feels light. He closes his eyes, lets himself be carried away by Nam Taehyun’s voice. And even in the darkness, he sees Taehyun. Feels Taehyun. His stoic face but gentle smile, his droopy eyebrows and bunny teeth, his snarky remarks but endearing voice, his soft and warm hands.

“Making me smile, making me laugh, no one has ever tried opening me up. So thank you, and I like you.”

Mino remembers that day when Taehyun cried (and Mino feels guilty because in his memory, all he can think about was how Taehyun’s crying face looked really beautiful). The boy was talking about his father, and how the old man had left them and how broken Taehyun’s mother was after everything. Taehyun was so afraid that his mother would leave him too because he was a bad kid and it was all his fault. If only he was a better son, if only he had better grades, if only he didn’t break his mom’s favorite vase, if only— Mino recalls how he pulled Taehyun into an embrace because the boy was talking too much, blaming himself for everything and Mino didn’t like it.  

All the emotions from that day came rushing back and Mino tries to breathe. Barely, he does.

Mino abruptly heads to the counter, buys the CD and staggers out of the store as he tries to remember the way to Taehyun’s house.

He starts to run and keeps running, and running and running and he likes Taehyun, He likes him so so much. 

And he’s not letting go. Not now. Not anymore. 

He finds Taehyun seated on a wooden swing in the balcony of the boy’s home, eyes closed, earphones on, mouth slightly open. His head was tilted on the side, leaning on the swing’s chain. Mino wishes that it was his shoulder instead.

He approaches Taehyun and contemplates on whether he should wake the other boy up or not. Taehyun is sleeping so peacefully and Mino wouldn’t mind staring at this kind of beauty all day. Mino shakes his head in annoyance because this isn't the time to be thinking of something like that. Frustration starts to build up, he doesn't really know what to do, but it's now or never, Mino thinks. 

He feels a surge of confidence rush through him and blurts out, “Hey!”

Taehyun jerks from his seat, his eyes flutter open at the sound of Song Mino’s voice. He was surprised to see the other boy standing in front of him, wide-eyed, flustered and slightly sweaty. Taehyun can barely come up with something to say. He continues to stare at the figure that he thinks is Mino, mouth still open, as he asks himself if his mind is just playing tricks with him. Maybe he should just, touch this Mino to see if he’s real or not? Maybe he should reach out his hand and just—

“I’m- I-m sorry!” Mino blurts out and Taehyun hastily backs his hand away. So it’s real.

Mino had already crafted a script in his head on his way to Taehyun’s house but seeing the boy up close and finally talking to him after days of awkward glances and silent nods made him forget the things he actually wanted to say. Again, Mino finds himself standing in front of Taehyun, as he imagines a line of invisible sweat trickle down the corners of his face. 

“Do you-“ Taehyun says in a voice that Mino barely heard because he was immersed in his own train of thoughts.

“I, what?” Mino abruptly follows- curious and searching for something. 

“Do you need anything from me?” Taehyun asks and he looks at Mino with an expression the tanned kid could hardly understand. Taehyun’s existence has always been a mystery for him- like some odd box your mom suddenly brings at home and you desperately want to know what’s inside but your mom mutters a hushed ‘no’ because the box is not for you and it’s not something you’re allowed to open. And what if Taehyun is just like that? What if he didn’t like Mino after all? What if the song wasn’t really for him ? What if-

“Why are you here?” The younger kid questions again and Mino is surprised to hear the new-found confidence in Taehyun’s voice. Mino lowers his head and mutters another ‘sorry’.

Taehyun looks at the flustered boy in front of him as he squints his eyes in confusion. “Why do you keep saying sorry?” 

Mino swallows hard and he feels the words almost stuck in his throat. “I- I lied.”

Taehyun is running out of patience because for one, he can barely hear what Mino is saying. Second, Mino has always been one with the big mouth so he can’t understand why the boy keeps talking in short sentences. “Can you please just tell me what you want to say because I don’t really get you!” 

“Why are you so dumb!” Mino exclaims out of nowhere and Taehyun is surprised.

“What?” Taehyun is slightly offended as he looks at Mino in disbelief. “Did you just call me… dumb?”

Mino wants to take back what he said but it’s too late. And he feels frustrated because Taehyun doesn’t get him at all. “ You’re so so so dumb!”

“Says you who doesn’t even know what an integer was before!” Taehyun blurts out.

It’s now Mino’s time to feel offended so he stumbles for words and spats out the first rebuttal to enter his mind. “I’m- At least I know how to draw a proper banana!”

Taehyun squints his eyes. Perplexed. Mino is weird and still dumb. “Wha— what do you mean?!” 

“I— I heard it okay!!!”

Taehyun is confused and just as he was about to ask Mino what the hell he is trying to say, the tanned kid kneels to the ground and grips on the other’s arms rather tightly. Mino’s head was now slightly lower than his and Taehyun is surprised because the scene is overly familiar, similar to one of the cliche romance movies he was watching the other day. But his heart was beating so fast and he wonders if this is the moment when the lead guy confesses to the lead girl (or boy) and—

“I’m sorry! I’m sorry for being blind or for being deaf or for being a liar because I know I shouldn’t be feeling like this for you but I can’t hide it or stop my feelings anymore and it’s so frustrating because I always think about you and your pretty face and I just want it all to stop but it’s so hard, like really really hard and I don’t know what I should do okay but I just, like you so much and not just as a friend but how boys like girls and want to take them on a date and hold hands and hug and, and and I know it’s weird but I heard your song and I thought or more like felt that it was for me so I came here and I wanted to let you know how I feel.“ Mino tries to catch his breath as he looks at Taehyun, searching for an answer in the other boy’s eyes.

Taehyun feels lightheaded with all the things Mino had just said. “What did you say? You were talking so fast I could barely—“

“I like you! I really really like you okay!” Mino screams in frustration. He waits for Taehyun to say anything, just anything, but the other boy remains speechless in front of him.

“God damn it Taehyun, don’t just sit there! Say something!”

“I love you.”

Taehyun notices how Mino’s hold on him starts to loosen and he feels something bitter gnawing in his chest. He sees the bewildered look on the other boy’s face, doesn’t know if it’s disappointment or disgust and his heart sinks. But the words were already out of his mouth and it was too late to take them back.

Mino holds his breath as Taehyun grips onto one of his arms and starts to speak again. “What did you want me to say? Of course I like you, wasn’t it so obvious already? I dated that girl because I wanted to make you jealous like how it was in the movies! But you didn’t even get mad and it made me realise how dumb I was to think that you’ll get jealous in the first place so I broke up with her because it was pointless. And I think, my feelings, they’re not just something you could describe as like, stupid! I… I love you!”

With Taehyun’s sudden confession, Mino looks at him, like really really looks at him this time. He lets go of all the doubts, the hesitations and the what ifs. 

And then he sees it. He sees the love, the longing, the look of “why have we wasted so much time?” He wonders how, how hasn’t he seen this before? He wonders why, why was he so blind? Because Taehyun, the boy that makes his heart leap in ways no one ever could, has been looking at him like that all this time. And he was too dumb (or maybe too scared), to notice. 

Taehyun’s face is tense, eyebrows drooping even lower than usual, mouth slightly open, waiting for Mino to say something. 

Mino’s gaze drops down to Taehyun’s half-opened mouth and his heart skips a beat.

“Can I kiss you?” Mino asks out of impulse. He feels the heat rushing through his entire body as Taehyun nods and murmurs something Mino would like to think is a yes.

Finally.

Mino stands up, slightly wobbling because his knees feel weak from kneeling on the ground for too long. When he regained his balance, He holds onto Taehyun’s hands and hauls the other boy up. He slowly leans in and closes his eyes but bumps onto Taehyun’s forehead in the process. Mino feels blood thrumming in his ears and he hears a muffled laugh coming from the other. He smiles awkwardly, internally scolding himself to stop messing up. 

He leans in again, tilts his head this time and closes the distance between them. Gentle and timid, Mino presses his lips against Taehyun’s. Strawberries. Baby powder. He closes his eyes and he can feel Taehyun’s warm breath against his skin. The kiss was brief and modest, their first.

They pull apart and by the moment Mino opens his eyes, he is greeted by a now flustered Nam Taehyun who he thinks looks even more beautiful (if that’s possible). And yes. 

“I think, I love you too.” Mino says, voice rough and low, dazed and out-of-breath, because everything is just, surreal and he feels like he’s drowning. But he wouldn’t like it any other way. And he doesn’t mind feeling like this, now or forever  because all Mino knows is that he’s happy- so so so so happy that finally. Finally. 

Taehyun smiles, bunny teeth and droopy eyebrows showing. Mino thinks that he would never get tired of seeing that smile. 

“Can you kiss me again?” Taehyun asks, not in a shy or embarrassed way but one that is demanding and certain. 

Mino doesn’t hesitate anymore and pulls Taehyun in. 

And that concludes it! Finally! To the readers who stil stuck through with this fic despite my super slow updates, thank you!!! You guys are the best ;____;

Special thanks to Emie for helping me get through this, especially the kissing scene lol! Wouldnt have done this without your support and tips <3

I'm sorry for all the angst I've made you guys go through and if it was kinda cut short hahaha, I at writing cheesy romantic scenes (especially kissing scenes OMG, it took me forever to write that haha). So, yeah,  I will just leave it at that! Atleast I gave you some decent amount of fluff and a happy ending!!!

Do you want an epilogue? Yes? No? How long should you wait? Haha, tell me in the comments :)