4

Taehyun secretly wanted Jiho to move to the basketball club to be with the other tall boy instead, so he could be with Mino during their club activities. He had to sit quietly next to Mino, who was sitting next to Jiho, listening to the boy talking to his best friend and he wasn’t invited. He also felt awkward around Jiho because what had happened between him and his other friend (Jihoon, who Taehyun didn’t know what his name was). The younger boy sighed, he had thought having friends would be easier.

There was a reason why Mino didn’t talk to Taehyun much during their club activities, he didn’t want Jiho to about liking Taehyun in front of Taehyun himself, so he didn’t talk to the boy the whole period. He felt bad, and worse when he could hear the younger boy sighed. Jiho knew exactly what was happening and having a great time torturing his friend and junior.

When the period had ended Taehyun was the first one to leave the room without saying  word. He was mad, but he didn’t know why. The boy rushed out and bumped into someone as soon as he went through the door.

“S-sorry.”, Taehyun muttered before he could see who it was, it was Bobby, with his smiley face. “Why the hell are you here?”, he pushed Bobby away. He was already in a very bad mood and now he had to face this. “I’m here to pick you up! Let’s go home together.” The happy Bobby ignored the boy’s words and placed his hands on both sides of the door frame, blocking Taehyun from leaving. They were close, very close, Taehyun had to stepped back inside the room. “Go away.”, he said calmly. He didn’t want anyone to pay their attention on him and Bobby now, but everyone is staring.  Mino was watching as well, as he could feel something strange inside his body. Bobby just grinned and shook his head. “Not until you agree to go with me.”, he whispered with a very low voice.
The situation was very awkward for Taehyun, he turned to look back in the room, looked at Mino who was staring at him with an expression he didn’t understand. He took quite a while, staring back into Mino eyes, then turned back to Bobby. “Fine.”, then he pushed the other one away from the door and leave without looking back. Bobby took a quick glance and Mino before he followed Taehyun.

“What was that…” Jiho said after those two left. Mino just shrugged. “I don’t know.”, he groaned while shoving his things into his bag.

-----

Taehyun tried to attend class more often. He felt like he should behave better for some reason, and to avoid being alone with Bobby. But being a better student didn’t help neither, Bobby still followed him around and it was annoying to the point he just ignored him instead of yelling at him. Bobby was in the class next to him but he came here every break he could.The worst part was his classmates liked the cheerful Bobby and warmly welcomed him, which made Taehyun hate his classmates so badly. He had to spend his breaks sitting at his desk and staring outside, trying to ignore the presence of the non-stop-babbling Bobby. He rest his head on his hand, staring at some students on the yard. He spotted a student from afar, who was tall, had tan skin, and wearing a snapback. For a moment he thought that was Mino, then he felt disappointed after realize he wasn’t the senior. Taehyun sighed. As soon as the bell rang, Bobby went back to his class and Taehyun left his classroom heading to the rooftop, to his comfort zone.

-----

Lately Mino saw Taehyun at school more often, occasionally saying hi when they met. Mino could see that the younger boy seemed to have a friend too (Bobby, who always glared at him). To be honest, he felt a bit disappointed, he thought he would be the boy’s only friend.
“I thought he only have me.” Mino said with his friends, his head resting on his hand, gazing at the blackboard. They were sitting together in their classroom which everyone was discussing about their group assignment.
“He cheated on you?” Jihoon teased, then laughed after seeing his friend’s reaction. This had been like a hobby to them, teasing Mino about Taehyun.
“You should tell him.” Jiho said, writing something the three of them should be doing together. “Tell him what?”, Mino asked and shamelessly watching his friend doing the group assignment alone, but that didn’t bother Jiho anyway. “That you like him.”, both Jihoon and Jiho smiled at each other, having a good time. “I told you many times already its not like that!” He was loud, but not loud enough for the whole chattery room to hear.  "Then just stop talking about him already. It started to get annoying now, Mino.", said the black haired friend.

-----

"Stop following me!" Yelling at Bobby had been an everyday routine for Taehyun. He regretted being a good student and wanted his without-this-idiot-Bobby peaceful life back. And he missed Mino, since they had to prepare for the upcoming exam, the club activities were canceled, so Taehyun didn't have any chance to meet Mino. They could, but Taehyun just did not have an excuse to meet the older boy.
"Come on~ Taehyun-ah~  we can start from being friends." Bobby seemed to never give up. "No." He was getting on Taehyun's nerves, really. Taehyun had thoughts about smashing something at this annoying boy’s face so he could shut his mouth or something familiar.
But that thoughts stopped after they accidentally met Mino in the hallway.Taehyun suddenly smiled at his senior, calling him, "Hyung." Mino smiled back and walked towards the boy and his friend. "Hey." The just smiled and saying nothing, they haven’t met for weeks, so, yes, they miss each other.. The scene had some weird romantic vibes between them and Bobby didn't like it, so he stepped in front of Taehyun to face Mino.
"Umm, hey." The older boy said to the boy who was now facing him. "Bobby!", Taehyun tried to pull Bobby away but he was way more stronger, the boy's action could not move him at all.
"What's going on?" Mino was confuse, looking over Bobby’s shoulder, at Taehyun for an answer. "I'm sorry, hyung. He is an idiot." The skinniest one still trying to pull the strongest one off. Bobby stared into Mino eyes and that made him felt uncomfortable. "Umm...I-I'll leave then. See you later, Taehyun." Then Mino walked away with Bobby's stare still fixed on him.

"Bobby!" Taehyun yelled at he other boy as soon as the older one left. "Don't do this again! And stop following me!" Mino could hear what Taehyun was shouting so he turned back to see what was really happening. He was confused, very confused, but one thing he was sure of was this Bobby was not Taehyun's friend.

What startled him was Taehyun shouting "I'd rather be with him than you!", and pointing his finger towards Mino. Both Mino and Bobby went speechless. Taehyun left the speechless Bobby and stomped towards The speechless Mino. "Hyung, let's go." He pulled the older boy's blazer, dragged him off to somewhere else, anywhere that there was no Bobby.

-----

The angry Taehyun still had his hand gripping on Mino's blazer, till all around them went silent, then he seemed to noticed what he was doing. He let go of The older boy's shirt. His face was red, not sure whether he was embarrassed or angry.
"I’m sorry....", said the younger boy, looking at the floor to avoid eye contact. "It's okay but can you explain me what happen? I'm a bit lost here." Mino chuckled. He wanted to calm the other boy down so he pat on the boy’s head slightly.
Taehyun sighed, looking tired. He crossed his arm over his chest.  "Umm... well...." He wasn’t sure he should tell Mino about Bobby or not. He looked up to see Mino's face. "Um, well, he want to date me, and I said no." Mino's eyes widen with surprise. He knew that Taehyun looked a bit feminine but he didn't think of him being chased after by men so obviously like this, then he suddenly realized something, and it made his heartbeat race. "Um... Taehyun-ah... You told him you would date me?"
Taehyun's eyes went wider, also his face, redder. He was so embarrassed after realizing what he had said without thinking. "No. I mean.. I-I just said that to get rid of Bobby...", the younger boy stuttered. He ran his fingers through his hair with nervousness and that's how Mino could see the droopy eyebrows that Taehyun had been hiding. The older one just stared at those brows, he was so focused that he did not listen what Taehyun was saying.
"...Wh-what? Why are you staring at me?" Taehyun let his hand down, his bangs covering his droopy eyebrows again, and his hair went messy. He looked at Mino who was kind of lost again, staring at his forehead.
"Okay." Mino shooked his head to call himself back, pretended like he heard what the other one said. Taehyun just nodded. "I'm sure he won't stop bother you until you get yourself a girlfriend." The older boy chuckled, joking like he always did. Taehyun also smiled along.
"I'm sorry I dragged you here." Taehyun reached out to fix the older boy's blazer properly. Mino's heart skipped a beat. He realized that they were standing close enough he could smell his scent. "I-it's okay, don't worry." He could hear that his voice was unstable, his face heating up. What the hell is happening, He thought, feeling uneasy because of the boy coming closer than they usually were. His palms are also sweating. He could smell sweet scent mixing with slightly tobacco from Taehyun.
"See you later, hyung. I have to go back to class." Taehyun pat on Mino's chest after he finished what he was doing. He stared at his senior, expecting a goodbye. Mino bit his lower lips, feeling uneasy. “Taehyun-ah… Can I ask you something?” He tried to calm himself down, gripping his hand tight into a fist. “Yeah?” Taehyun said with a nod and Mino thought that was cute.

Calm down Mino… calm down….

“Do you want to be my friend?” He asked while staring into the younger boy’s eyes. Taehyun was surprise with the sudden question, then sincerely answered it, “I do.”  Mino could feel his heart beating faster that it started to hurt. “Why?” He asked again. The other boy paused and thought about it for a while, then he answered with confident, “Because I know you will never like me like me that way.”  
Mino could feel a sharp pain inside his chest.  That was not what he expect at all. His heart was beating so loud that he couldn't hear anything else but his own heartbeat. He could feel the heat rising up, like he was about to burn. He forced himself to smile back at the younger boy. “Okay, see you later.” He turned around and walked quickly, wanting to get out of here as soon as he could.
That sweet and bitter scent had poisoned him, making him feel sick. The boy stopped walking in  the empty hallway , leaning his forehead on the wall, breathing in and out, trying to control his heart and breath. This was not a good sign. Mino knew what it was, but he tried to avoid it, he tried. He went back to his class, to his friends. "Why is your face red?" Jiho was the first to ask. Mino just sat quietly in his seat, shaking his head. He pretended to be interested what was in his textbook. The teacher came, so they didn’t bother to interrogate Mino. The boy tried his best to think about something else, but he end up thinking about what just happened.

We are friends… and he trusts me. He trusts me that I will never like him.

Mino dug his fingers into his hair. He closed his eyes and all he could see was Taehyun, smiling with his droopy eyebrows, and he could remember perfectly the scent of the younger boy.

Does he smoke? What perfume does he use? He smells so good... Wait. NO.

What should I do... This should not happen. No. No. Maybe it is something else. Calm down, Mino. , this is so ed up.

He groaned, collapsed onto his desk. He could feel the rim of his eyes burning hotter and hotter as he kept repeating Taehyun’s words in his head. Mino put his arms on the desk, covering his face and his tears started to drop. Then he realized,

He liked Taehyun.

He liked him very much, and he was hurt by the younger boy’s trust. He knew exactly that he had as much chance as Bobby, which was none. They will never be anything more than just friends, or at least they can be friends. Mino comforted himself while his tears ran down to the tip of his nose. It was painful, very painful. Minutes ago he was still fine, and now after he discovered his feelings, all he could feel is the sharp pain inside his body. He felt weak, he felt like he don’t have the strength to see the boy anymore.

-----

Many weeks had passed, and Mino was no way to be found. Taehyun haven’t seen his senior at all, even in their club. He started to get worry if the boy was sick or something happen.

Hyun, are you coming today?

Taehyun texted Mino while he was sitting in his club room alone, waiting for everyone to come, especially Mino. He stared at the screen of his phone, waiting for any response. The older boy didn’t even read his message, and it made him feeling more and more worried. Suddenly the bang sound broke the silence of the room, made the boy jumped and turn his head towards the door. It was Mino, standing there looking surprised.

“Hyung.” Taehyun let out a faint smile. He felt relieved seeing the older boy. Mino just smiled and nodded. He closed the door slowly and walked towards the younger one. He was quiet. “Are you okay?” Taehyun asked as his senior sat next to him, looking tired. “Yeah, don’t worry.” Mino answered with lower voice, didn’t even look at him. The younger boy did not dare to ask anymore question. He could sense that the other boy wasn’t in a good mood, so he shut his mouth and sat quietly.

It was quiet, both of them just sat there without talking or doing anything. Mino could smell the bitter sweet scent from the one next to him again, and it was strong, even they weren’t that close. He intended to avoid seeing or meeting Taehyun for a month, to suppress his feelings towards the boy. After that long period, It did not help him at all. His heart still beat as fast as last time, also the pain. Seeing Taehyun smiling happily to see him like this made the pain even worse. He felt like he betrayed the boy’s trust, like he was lying.

Finally Jiho came in, looked as surprised as Mino to see Taehyun here. “Hey.” the blonde boy smiled and greeted his junior, then he went straight to sit next to his friend. “Are you okay?” He rest his hand on his friend’s shoulder, squeezed it. Taehyun turned his head to look at the two boys. Mino didn’t answer anything, so Jiho pat on his back to comfort. He knew everything that was happening, about Mino and Taehyun, and he felt bad for his best friend. Taehyun could only see Mino’s back, he couldn’t understand the situation at all that he started to feel uncomfortable.

Eventually, the other students arrived, the room was slowly filled with other members of the club. Taehyun couldn’t focus at today’s lessons at all, all he could think of was about Mino. He didn’t like seeing his cheerful senior being quiet and gloomy like this. He started to question himself whether he was the one to blame over the boy’s sadness. Did he do or say something and made him mad? Was he hated and they weren’t friends anymore?

Mino also couldn’t concentrate with what the teacher was explaining, he couldn’t even hear properly because his heart was beating so loud. The feeling of Taehyun sitting next to him excites him so much. He missed the boy very much, facing the dilemma of wanting and not wanting to be with Taehyun.

After that incident, Mino told his friends about what’s going on and they were in shock, and apologized how they kept teasing Mino right away. He wasn’t mad at his friends at all, he needed support, and they were great, he couldn't find any better friends that Jiho and Jihoon. The idea of liking boys never was his choice, but now it seemed like he couldn’t choose. He just had to admit it.

He knew he should say something to the boy to make it less obvious about his changed feelings, (or it never changed but he just discovered it). He didn’t want Taehyun to know the way he felt towards him, he might lose the boy if that happen. But he couldn’t think of any.

And the time went by quickly, the bell rang to inform that their class had ended. Mino panicked, he had to say something to Taehyun before he leave. “Taehyun-ah.” He unconsciously called the boy. His heart started to race fast as twice as he already was when the boy turned to face him. Mino opened his mouth but nothing came out. He didn’t know what to say. Taehyun was waiting till everyone left the room, also Jiho. They were alone and Mino started to sweat as he could not find anything to say to the boy. “Did I do something?” Taehyun asked softly, his pretty face looked worry. “Did I say something that made you mad at me?” Mino was in shock, he didn’t think the boy would blame himself, even it was true that he was the cause of the older boy’s sadness. “No. Not at all. I’m was sick and I’m not fully recovered.” He made an excuse and the younger one believed it. He sighed with relief, then smiled. “I thought you were mad at me.” Taehyun stated, he looked more relax now, Mino too.

When they left the room, Jiho wasn’t waiting for Mino, so he texted his friend to ask where he was and the answer was

I’m with Jihoon now.

Tell me if you don’t want to be alone with that kid, k?

And Mino didn’t answer, he glanced at the younger boy who was standing and looking at him with innocent eyes. “Umm… He left with Jihoon already.” Taehyun nodded. They walked together along the silent hallway. Mino tried his best to act as normal as he could. He was happy to see Taehyun smiling and laughing along his jokes like always. But this time was different, Taehyun started to tell his stories too. The younger boy talked about his test scores, his boring classes, and many other things. Mino couldn’t help himself from smiling, hearing what the boy eagerly wanted to tell him.

They stopped at where they had to go separate ways again, “See you later.” Mino gave his junior a big smile. He was glad that they met today. “Hyung, you can tell me if anything is bothering you, okay? I’m worried about you too.” The older boy was surprised to hear that from his junior, he chuckled then nodded. Taehyun reached out his hand and pat softly at his back like what Jiho did. Mino shivered, feeling the boy touching his back. He wanted to be closer to the boy, physically. “Umm, Taehyun, can I… hug you?” He could see the boy startled so he quickly added, “It’s okay if you don’t want to.” Mino felt stupid asking such thing, he knew Taehyun don’t like to be touched. But the boy did hug him, and is felt like his heart would stop beating at that very moment. Mino was so shocked, he didn’t hug the boy back, and when he was going to, Taehyun had already parted from him. “See you tomorrow.”, the younger boy said then turned around and left quickly. Mino was sure he saw Taehyun blushed and that made him so happy he wanted to scream out loud.

It was good enough for him just to be the boy’s friends. He felt like he was special already and he couldn’t ask for anything more.

---------------------

I have to say thank you! I have so many subscribers, more than I expected. I'm very grateful! ^^

I'm sorry that I painted it roughly because I'm very busy T_T 

Thank you again! I love you <3 

Vivian