Chapter 14

Zitao was so tempted to just call Yifan. But he was sure the older had had enough of Zitao for one day. So he sighed and called Jongdae instead because he was bored and felt maybe Jongdae should hear the news first. Also because he wanted to hear the older male’s voice again—but don’t tell anyone I said that.

The phone rang several times. Zitao walked around with his cellphone in between his shoulder and his ear as he played with Candy, who had been receiving little love the last couple days. Someone answered the call as Zitao was preparing food for Candy.

“Hello?” It was Jongdae’s voice.

“Hey, hyung.” Zitao said. “It’s me, Zitao.”

“Oh! Hi Tao-yah!” Jongdae’s voice perked up. “What’s up? Out of school already?”

“Yeah. I just got back. Playing with Candy-ah now.” Zitao said. “Are you free right now?”

“Free…?” Jongdae asked. “Uh…yeah. My parents are arguing again, so Joonmyeon and I are hiding out in our room. Why?”

“Well, why don’t I come over there and save you from your misery? We can go out somewhere to eat or just chill.” Zitao offered. “Plus, I have something I’d like to tell you.”

“O-oh…” Jongdae said. “Well sure…I—I guess. Do you remember where I live?”

“Pretty sure.” Zitao responded. “But I’ll let you know if I get stuck.”

“Okay. Well, be careful on your way.”

“I will.” Zitao smiled slightly at Jongdae’s concern. “I’ll see you in 10 minutes, hopefully.”

“Bye, Tao-yah.”

With that, Zitao hung up the phone and got ready to leave. Candy seemed to dislike being left alone again, so Zitao sighed and picked up the small puppy, which had been pawing at his leg since he moved to the door to put his jacket and shoes on. He pecked the puppy’s little back nose.

“I’m sorry, Panda-ah.” Zitao said. “But I have to leave again…”

Candy barked (more like squeaked) and looked at Zitao with her big blue eyes. Zitao sighed and put the dog down to pull out his phone. He felt bad for the poor puppy. It would be better to have someone to watch over her than to just have her be alone again. He texted Sehun asking if he would watch over Candy for a while.

Sehun could almost hear Sehun’s whine as he received a text back complaining about them never hanging out anymore. Zitao rolled his eyes and explained that he didn’t want to leave Candy alone anymore and that he was going out with Jongdae again. The message Zitao received back made him want to punch Sehun in the face.

[From: Annoying Best Friend

Ohh, going out with your boyfriend again? Have fun, Tao~]

Zitao kind of regretted asking for Sehun’s help. And regretted telling him about Jongdae. Sure, Jongdae had said he like Zitao several times (only two times technically), but Zitao was sure he didn’t mean it that way. Nevertheless, he sighed and just told Sehun to come over as soon as possible and that if he wasn’t home, the door was open.

He put his phone in his jacket pocket after finally getting Sehun to agree to puppy-sit Candy for him. When he moved his hand, he felt something else in his pocket, smaller than his phone. He narrowed his eyes, but decided to check it once he had actually left the house. He managed to get on a bus that took him to where he recalled Jongdae’s house to be, and dug his hand into his pocket again.

He pulled out a small MP3 player. Without a second thought, he quickly remembered where this came from and fondly recalled when Jongdae and Sehun went to watch him (or listen to in Jongdae’s case) practice his wushu. Jongdae had let him borrow the mp3 player, but he had forgotten about it. He kind of wanted to add some of the songs he wrote on it.

“Hmm…” he mumbled to himself softly. “I wonder what kind of music his brother puts on it…”

He pulled his headphones from his other pocket (he always kept some in whatever he wore out, just in case) and plugged them into the white mp3 player. Like before, there were a lot of songs and playlists on the music player. The thing must’ve had a lot of gigabits on it. He chose a random song (“Quiet, Quiet” by some English person called Polite Fiction) and left the MP3 on shuffle until he had to get off the bus.

There were a lot of good songs on the MP3. Zitao didn’t change the song once. The variety was nice. He had a lot of English songs, and ballad songs, though. Zitao expected that from Jongdae, somehow. The bus stopped several times, but finally, Zitao stood up at a stop no one else seemed to be getting off at and looked around. If he recalled when Jongdae told Sehun the directions to his house, it should be somewhere around here…

Zitao looked at the MP3 and put it back in his pocket, instead pulling out his phone to check the time. He looked around once more and then continued walking forward several blocks until he noticed a familiar looking house. He stopped in front of the house, observing it. It was small and a little dilapidated. Probably not the warmest place in the winter. Probably not the warmest place in general considering how Jongdae explained his parents.

Zitao pulled out his phone again and called Jongdae’s number again, just in case the older didn’t want Zitao to barge in through the front. He waited for an answer, still listening to Jongdae’s MP3, which was playing on “Haru Haru” by Big Bang (a band Zitao was very familiar with and fond of).

. . .

Joonmyeon had been pestering Jongdae about Zitao coming over since Jongdae hung up the phone. It was getting annoying and embarrassing. Jongdae didn’t know how to tell his brother to stop though, without sounding rude. He sighed half wishing he was also deaf so he didn’t need to hear his older brother’s coos and comments about Zitao. Though in retrospect, if he were blind and deaf, he wouldn’t be able to hear or see Zitao. And that would be even more disappointing.

“Dae-ah~! Your future husband is calling~” Joonmyeon called, shaking Jongdae from his thoughts and causing him to blush.

“I—I told you to stop calling him that…” Jongdae stammered. “We’re just friends. He’s trying to help me out by getting me out of the house.”

“Yeah…I understand.” Joonmyeon said. “But are you going to answer the call or not?”

“Give me the phone then.” Jongdae replied. “I don’t know where it is—I can’t see it.”

Joonmyeon laughed. “Sorry. Here.”

The object was put in Jongdae’s hand. Joonmyeon had already hit talk for Jongdae, so he just put the phone to his ear. “Tao-yah?”

“Hey.” Zitao’s voice seeped through the phone and into Jongdae’s ear. “I think I’m outside your house, but I’m not sure.”

Jongdae hummed. “Let me get Joonmyeon-hyung to look out the window to see if he can see you.”

“By the way, your MP3 player has some pretty sweet music on it.” Zitao said. “I like it.”

Jongdae felt his face heat up. He shook his head. “Yeah. Like I said, keep it as long as you like.”

“I’ll probably give it back eventually.” Zitao commented.

Jongdae felt the bed lose some weight as his older brother stood up, probably belatedly going to see if Zitao was outside. Jongdae followed the sound of Joonmyeon’s footsteps. He waited patiently for Joonmyeon to say something.

“I think I do see someone outside.” Joonmyeon said. “Tell him to look through one of the windows.”

“Tao-yah, are there any windows?” Jongdae asked into the phone. “If you see some, look at them. Joon-hyung is looking through his.”

Eventually, Jongdae got a confirmation that he was in front of his house, to which Jongdae looked in Joonmyeon’s general area for help. Joonmyeon sighed and got Jongdae to his feet, telling him they’d go through the back door. Jongdae nodded with a smile and followed Joonmyeon closely as they snuck out of their room and made their way to the back so their parents would question where they were going.

. . .

Zitao looked around the house for any signs of his shorter yet older friend (whom he totally didn’t actually consider as someone he liked now) waiting patiently while using the elder’s mp3 for entertainment. Zitao was jamming out to ZE:A’s “All Day Long” when he spotted Jongdae and Joonmyeon coming out from the opposite end of the house he expected them to come from. He assumed they had come out from the back door. He moved to approach them, pausing the music and taking his headphones out.

Joonmyeon smiled when he seen Zitao and nudged Jongdae forwards. Jongdae stumbled forwards and Zitao quickly caught the shorter. Jongdae smiled when he realized who had caught him and hugged the taller comfortably. Zitao laughed slightly and hugged Jongdae back.

Joonmyeon smiled. “Well, have fun you two. At least going out is better than sticking around and listening to our parents arguing. Maybe I should call Yifan-hyung, too. I need an excuse to leave as well.”

Zitao laughed as he pulled away from Jongdae. “If you see him, tell him to call me later. I didn’t want to bother him, but since you plan on seeing him, I guess I have an excuse now. I have something to ask him.”

“Sure.” Joonmyeon said. “I can do that. Now leave before we get caught. If you’d like, I can drive you guys to the bus stop.”

“It beats walking.” Zitao said.

“Alrighty then.” Joonmyeon replied. “Let’s get going.

Zitao and Jongdae ended up walking up and down the streets of Gangnam, Jongdae holding onto Zitao’s hand, probably making it look like they were a couple. Zitao, albeit embarrassed slightly, accepted it because otherwise, Jongdae would probably get lost. Zitao looked down at their hands for the umpteenth time. He cleared his throat, which caused Jongdae to look over.

“Tao-yah?” he said but then seemed to remember he had a question. “Oh, why was it you wanted to talk to me?”

“Ah, that…” Zitao replied. “I do have something. But it can wait until later on. Do you have anything you want to say?”

Jongdae hesitated. “W-well…”

Zitao looked down at Jongdae. “Hmm? You can trust me, hyung. It’s okay.”

“I-it’s nothing important…” Jongdae said. “I just…never mind.”

“Hyung?” Zitao eyed Jongdae curiously. “Seriously, what is it? Is it something that might make me mad or sad? Are you worried it’ll hurt my feelings?”

Jongdae shook his head. “N-no…it’s just—I’m…I don’t know…”

“Are you…perhaps…embarrassed about it?” Zitao asked slowly. “Is it something that embarrassing?”

Jongdae blushed. “It’s just…I’m a little confused…”

“About…?” Zitao asked.

“Can we go find somewhere quiet to sit down…?” Jongdae mumbled. “It’s really noisy on these streets…”

Zitao nodded. “Should we find a café or something?”

Jongdae shrugged. “Someplace quiet…and vacant…”

“We can go back to my place.” Zitao suggested. “Sehun-ah is there now watching Candy-ah, but I can always kick him out.”

Jongdae shrugged again. “I don’t care…”

Zitao eyed Jongdae worriedly. Something was wrong with the elder, but Zitao couldn’t put his hand on what it was. Whatever was bugging Jongdae, was something embarrassing and awkward to talk about in public. Zitao was curious about it and wanted to do anything to help him. He sighed to himself as they continued walking.

They ended up in an empty park sitting on an enclosed picnic area. Zitao had gotten them some canned drinks and put a straw in Jongdae’s so he could drink it easier. They sat in silence for several minutes before Jongdae opened his mouth to say something finally. Zitao watched the older carefully, trying to read his thoughts somehow.

“Tao-yah…” Jongdae said after a couple more seconds of hesitation. “D-do you remember…when I said I liked you…?”

Zitao nodded, knowing Jongdae wouldn’t be able to see it. “Yes. What about it?”

“I—I’m confused…” Jongdae said. “About that…”

“Why?” Zitao asked. “It’s not like I was the one who said it.”

Jongdae shook his head. “I just—don’t know if I actually do mean it or not…”

“Oh…” Zitao said. “Oh.”

He realized what Jongdae was saying. And in all honesty…he did agree with what Jongdae was talking about. He himself also didn’t know if he liked Jongdae in that way or not. Jongdae seemed a little embarrassed, so Zitao reached over and put his hand on the elder’s hesitantly.

“Hey, it’s okay…” Zitao said. “I understand.”

“It’s just…” Jongdae mumbled. “You’re so nice to me, and—and whenever I’m around you I feel safe and…loved. Something I never got besides from my brother. I—I hug you a lot because I like how it feels. I feel warm and…happy. I—I don’t know anymore…”

“You know…” Zitao said, “…this reminds me of what Sehun-ah said to me when I told him to dog-sit for me. About you.”

Jongdae tilted his head. “What did he say?”

“When I mentioned your name, he jokingly called you my boyfriend.” Zitao said. “It’s kind of embarrassing saying that; but…for some reason, after hearing your little speech about how you feel around me…I feel like I can tell you this.”

“Funny…” Jongdae said slowly. “When—when you called the second time, Joon-hyung called you my ‘future husband’. I got really embarrassed hearing that…”

Zitao blushed slightly hearing that. “Y-yeah. Anyways…since you said all that…I guess I should probably do the same…”

Jongdae looked down slightly. “G-go ahead…”

Zitao took a breath. “I—I…really feel like we have this kind of connection. Like—I’m your eyes and stuff… In school, my mind always wanders to you, wondering what you’re doing and if you’re okay. Hell, I spent most of my class trying to find a way to let you see again this afternoon. I had finished my project, though. So I wasn’t just searching it up on my phone; I asked permission to go to the library since I had nothing better to do… I also like hearing you sing…it’s been a while…but sometimes, I can still hear your voice singing; the song I heard the first day I met you…”

Jongdae his lips nervously. “I—I can sing for you again…if you’d like. Just give me a song.”

Zitao’s eyes widened. “R-really?”

“Sure…” Jongdae said. “Consider it a gift for being so nice to me and listening to me this whole time…”

Zitao smiled. “Thanks. Let’s see…”

“Just…choose a random song from my MP3 player if you can’t decide…” Jongdae said. “I know the lyrics for most of the songs on there.”

“Impressive.” Zitao said. “What’s your favorite song on your mp3? The one you listen to the most?”

Jongdae thought for a while. “Uh…there is this song. It’s actually Chinese…it took a long time to learn the lyrics too, but…I think I have it down.”

“Oh?” Zitao looked at Jongdae in shock. “Sing it for me.”

Jongdae his lips again, drawing Zitao’s attention to them. He shook his head and focused on the older male’s face. Jongdae closed his eyes and took a breath. The Chinese flowed from his mouth as if it was his native language. It surprised Zitao a bit.

(Wo neng kanjian ni de shuangyan,

Tiaowangzhe tianbian…)

Jongdae’s song came to a close, leaving Zitao utterly speechless. He could tell how long Jongdae had practiced that song. Every adlib had sent shivers down Zitao’s back, and the English in the song was also quite chilling to listen to. It was almost as if it was Jongdae who was the singer of this song with how much feeling he put into it. Zitao wasn’t even sure of who the original singer of, but surely he or she couldn’t beat Jongdae’s singing, right?

“H-how was it…?” Jongdae asked nervously. “I didn’t do badly, did I?”

Zitao laughed, shaking his head. “No. Hyung, that was beautiful. The Mandarin was spot on. It was breathtaking.”

A pink shade dusted Jongdae’s cheeks hearing that comment. “T-thanks…it was hard. And the original singer was just so good…”

“Jongdae-hyung, trust me, you sounded like you created that song.” Zitao encouraged. “The feeling you had when singing, especially when you were adlibbing…it gave me chills.”

Jongdae blushed brighter. “T-Tao-yah…I—thank you… It means a lot hearing that from you. Really.”

Zitao smiled and patted Jongdae’s hand. “Anything for you, hyung.”

“I—I think I finally figured things out…” Jongdae said. “Thanks to you…”

Zitao tilted his head in confusion. “What do you mean hyung?”

Jongdae bit his lip. “I—I know it hasn’t been very long since we’ve met…b-but…I think…I think I like you…a-as more than a friend.”

Zitao stared at Jongdae for a long time. Again. Jongdae had said it again. But this time, Zitao know he was being honest. Zitao wasn’t sure how to answer. Should he just say he liked him back? Or…kiss him maybe? He could move and hug him, too… The possibilities were endless. He took a deep breath, letting what Jongdae had said sink in.

“Wait…” Jongdae added suddenly. “I—I don’t think the word ‘like’ justify my feelings enough… Huang Zitao…I—I l-love…y-you…”

Word count: 2,900

A/N: New chapter! Because I had had Chapter 13 done for ages...but apparently it was hidden. So yay you got two chapters in two days!

We're not learning about who can give Jongdae his sight back yet. But some of you are really good at guessing. Better than the readers on my other ff site. Then again...it's 100% obvious once you think about it. (though someone gave me an interesting idea. I wouldn't know how it would work though, so I'll stick with that I had before)

But adorable fluff and FINALLY a confession! I swear, an embarrassed Jongdae is a freaking adorable Jongdae. I wish I could see him this embarrased in real life omfg I'd die.

Oh, and just out of curiousity, if I were to post a fanfic for a different pairing, which would you most likely read?

VIXX (mainly Wontaek, but there's probably going to end up being more VIXX ships later on in my story idea)

Boyfriend (Youngwoo/Dongwoo/Youngkwang wrapped up into one fic)

Various groups (Keyber, possible Youngkwang, possible Taochen. Ft. Changmin (TVXQ) and Leo. If you can guess what this fic is about/based on just with the list of people I have, you win.)

Or EXO with an OC (Magic!AU. hints of Taochen)