CHAPTER 06

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The weather the next day was slightly pleasant. Taeyong had gotten together with his friends and they were just hanging out in the field, sitting on the cold grass as they soaked in some of the summer heat. It wasn’t too hot, or too cold, the weather perfect for an outing. They hadn’t really planned to do anything particular; most of them were doing their thing like doing some readings of the book the teachers had to told them to do, or completing some holiday homework.

Taeyong got bored after a while, being the only friend who had nothing to do. He had completed all his work in the beginning of the holidays so he could spend the rest carefree, and had gotten beef from his friend for being a nerd. Their loss, Taeyong thinks, now they’re clinging on every passing minute to complete the work they had months to do. He looks around to see Mark stretching before going back to his Science diagram; whilst Yuta and Hansol help each other highlight some of the important stuff in the book.

Hansol had looked closer than usual with Yuta as days went by. They were all friends but no one was close to anyone especially, they were all close together. Taeyong had Doyoung if he was going through something emotionally, Yuta if he needed to practice soccer with, Hansol for Physics, and Mark to cuddle. But Hansol had been clingy towards Yuta particularly.

It wasn’t a bad thing, of course, but it was something Taeyong had noticed lately. When they’d be talking to each other in the group chat, Hansol was someone who’d rarely message something, and when he did message, it was something quirky and sarcastic, and it was aimed towards everyone. But nowadays his attention was diverted towards Yuta’s messages, it seemed. Whenever Yuta would ask or say something, Hansol was usually the one who answered. Taeyong was used to seeing ‘Hansol is typing…’ as soon as Yuta’s message would get through.

Hansol had also taken the hobby of admitting it whenever Yuta complimented himself, which was a lot. If he would say something like, ‘don’t forget I looked the best on that day,’ Hansol would say something like, ‘Yes, I agree.’ Sometimes Hansol would message in the group chat like, ‘Has Yuta answered you guys’ messages? He’s not answering mine :/’ or ‘Yuta check your PM’ when Yuta came online.

Right now, they were both huddled together, a little close, their shoulders together as they both looked at each other’s books and read out the sentences they deemed important. Taeyong raises a hand above his eyes to protect his eyes from the sun, eyeing the two friends for any suspicious behavior. In reality, he was just looking for some material to blackmail Yuta with in exchange for the video footage he had of Taeyong with the whole dare thing.

Yuta closes off his highlighter and Hansol notices, doing the same. They both put their books away, Hansol keeps his on Yuta’s, and they both fall back, lying on the green grass. No one seems to notice or care for what both of them are doing, immersed in their own work. Hansol smiles when Yuta offers his arm for him to put his head on, and he shifts to cuddle close to him. This is weird; Hansol was never the clingy type. Touches in general were normal in the group, with Doyoung being the one who usually initiated it, but it was never Yuta and Hansol Taeyong had ever seen cuddling. Hmph. Taeyong shrugs, looking at other guys.

All of them seem to finish their work by putting their material away before they lay back on the grass as well. Taeyong lets them rest for a while, thinking of ways to entertain himself and his friends. He keeps thinking of ideas but he knows his friends won’t cooperate, and he already knows the ideas they’d offer. He finally comes to a conclusion and clears his throat, trying to get the group’s attention.

“You guys want to do something fun?”

Taeyong hears a groan, “Please don’t say you want to go play Laser Tag,” Doyoung mumbles, his arm over his eyes. Taeyong rolls his eyes at his friends’ disapproval.

“No. I was thinking of something like basketball.” Mark perks up when Taeyong says that, sitting up. He nods vigorously at him and Taeyong shoots him a smile, feeling victorious. He nudges Doyoung’s leg and it earns him a glare, but he decides to ignore it.

“See? Mark agrees. Let’s play basketball.”

They all get up, dusting theirselves off. Mark runs off, probably getting the basketball as they all collect their stuff. There is a playground near which is usually filled with boys, but since college is nearing soon, or because it’s too bright out, it’s relatively empty, only a few boys hanging out, no one really playing. Doyoung places their bags on the seats at the right of the basketball ground, before they wait for Mark to come with the basketball.

Taeyong asks Doyoung to help him stretch before he glances at the other pair, seeing Hansol happily holding Yuta’s leg as he stretches, looking down at him with the eyes brighter than the sun. He’s hiding a small smile, all shy and cute, and Taeyong can’t help but feel his heart swell at the interaction. He’s glad his friends are getting closer to each other. This break was probably the best for all of his friends and himself, of course.

Mark comes back shortly, out of breath as he hands Taeyong the ball. Hansol looks through his pockets and pulls out a coin as they all get together. Yuta counts them all before holding a hand up.

“Wait!” He says, “We’re five. Hansol, Mark and I are one team, and Doyoung are you are only two people.” He points out. He’s right, it’d be unfair on their side if they played with fewer members, and Taeyong looks around, looking for another boy to join in. Mark calls out the two boys sitting near the corner of the playground and they both shake their heads, before indulging in whatever conversation they were having. Taeyong heaves a breath, dejected as he takes a seat on the bleachers next to their stuff.

They’re all thinking of bringing someone in or just quit playing, but Taeyong wants to play with his friends bad. The weather was perfect and it was the first time all of them were so adamant to play together. No one backed out or complained, which was a rare thing. He places his chin on Mark’s basketball, looking off into space and thinking if he really had more than four friends. He didn’t.

“Ah!” Doyoung yells loudly, startling all of them. “Taeyong, why don’t you tell your boyfriend to join us…?”

The ball from Taeyong’s lap drops at the surprising question, his ears burning as he registers Doyoung’s words. Boyfriend…?! When did they find out him and Jaehyun and started dating? He hadn’t disclosed the information to anyone other than his parents. He grows nervous at what else his friends know.

Taeyong shakes his head quickly, glaring at a smug looking Doyoung. The other boys nod as well, casual and probably not knowing how Taeyong’s heart was in his throat at the realization. He and Jaehyun were dating. He takes a deep breath before picking up the ball, looking down at it with burning cheeks.

“N-No! I don’t want to annoy him. What if he’s napping or something?” Taeyong says softly, rubbing his fingernail on the basketball as he feels his friends’ gaze fixated on him. Doyoung comes closer, looking at him incredulously.

“Really, Tae…? No one naps at 5 pm except for you. Now call your lover boy, it’s getting late.” He says, more like orders Taeyong, and he feels his palms getting damp as he pulls his phone out of his pocket. He looks through the contacts for Jaehyun’s number before calling him, ignoring his friends’ snickers as Yuta reminds them of the name Taeyong had saved Jaehyun’s number with.

Taeyong, on the other hand, is a nervous mess, praying to the gods above Jaehyun doesn’t pick up. He bites at his lip anxiously as the phone rings. After the third ring, Taeyong is about to end the call but Jaehyun picks it up.

“Hello?” He sounds breathless, and Taeyong feels breathless. He squeezes his eyes as his friends gather together and sit around him, and Doyoung shakes his shoulder before whispering, “put it on speaker!”

“Hey, uh,” Taeyong’s mind goes blank before he pulls himself back to reality, now not only sweating from his palms, but sweating from everywhere. The sun rays aren’t helping, either.

“I’m with my friends and we were going to play basketball.” He clears his throat when he hears Jaehyun hum, even the little soft noise making Taeyong’s stomach flip, his heart still beating loud and fast. “I was wondering if you want to join us. I need another person to fill my team.”

“Oh, sure! Where are you?”

Taeyong looks at Doyoung, before mouthing, where am I? Doyoung tells him the address in sign language, his gestures are a mess, and he tells Jaehyun from what he understood. Thankfully, Jaehyun understands and tells him he’d be there shortly. Taeyong ends the call and Doyoung and Yuta are on his side, shaking him violently and singing ‘Taeyong and Jaehyun sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G.’

He tries not to blush to hard, impatiently waiting Jaehyun’s arrival.

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Taeyong and Mark throw the ball at each other, playing by themselves as his friends sit on the bleachers, talking about something that looks important.  He keeps glancing at them as he throws the ball at Mark, hoping they don’t embarrass him in front of Jaehyun. It’d be their first time meeting Jaehyun, and they looked excited, probably going through all the embarrassing moments Taeyong had had in his life to tell Jaehyun. It makes him nervous, his heart feels like it’s about to explode, but he doesn’t show it, and continues to practice with Mark. Its works as a distraction, Mark telling him his aims were crap and he needed help practicing before college started. High school for Mark, that is.

Mark is about to throw the ball back but stops mid-way, glancing behind Taeyong. He knows what’s coming when his friends start yelling, getting up and running to the entrance of the basketball ground. Mark does the same, but he actually has the decency to grab Taeyong’s arm and walk together with him. It helps because Taeyong’s legs start shaking with the impending nervousness, which is back with full force.

He looks at the entrance with squinted eyes, and sees Jaehyun do the same after he pockets his phone. Jaehyun looks gorgeous, wearing black tshirt with a green jacket and some blue jeans. He looks like he came from a photo-shoot, his hair swept back and a handsome smile on his face. Taeyong feels flustered when Jaehyun doesn’t glance at his friends, keeping his eyes on Taeyong the whole time.

Taeyong walks closer to him, grinning slightly and opening his arms for a hug. He’s met with Jaehyun’s warm embrace and his sweet scent, placing his cheek on Jaehyun’s shoulder as he closes his eyes, enjoying the arms wrapped around him. Jaehyun leans down, his breath tickling Taeyong’s ear.

“Hey baby,” He whispers, pressing a kiss to Taeyong’s ear as Taeyong giggles, his chest tight with all the overwhelming feelings filling it up. He squeezes Jaehyun before letting go, clearing his throat and fixing his hair. He looks at his friends, who he had momentarily forgotten were there, to be met with surprised looks. Doyoung has a smile on his face, before he winks at Taeyong and wiggles his eyebrows.

He throws Doyoung an unimpressed look, hoping he gets the message of ‘please do not make me regret being alive.’ Doyoung already looks like he didn’t catch up.

“Hi, I’m Mark, nice to meet you!” Mark stars off, bowing and shaking Jaehyun’s hand with both of his. Jaehyun greets him back before looking at Taeyong.

“Is he the youngest?” He asks Taeyong and he nods. Jaehyun nods his head too, smiling slightly as he pats Mark’s head.

“You’re cute.”

Mark looks at him with wide eyes before blushing, staring at the ground in front of him. His other friends greet themselves. Doyoung peaks his head out from behind Jaehyun’s back, mouthing a ‘he’s a keeper,’ which makes Taeyong blush too. He pulls Mark close to him, throwing a hand on his shoulder as Jaehyun and Yuta start conversing. Hansol looks awkward by Yuta’s side as he has his arm linked with Yuta’s, glancing between them with a frown framing his face. Taeyong makes a side note to ask Hansol what’s going on