Freesia – thoughtfulness

                Daehyun was gathering his stuff in the studio room when he heard stealthy footsteps approaching from behind. The corner of his lips quirked up while his hands kept arranging the music sheets on the piano. The moment the faint sound stopped, he was pretty sure the person was standing right behind him.

                “Afternoon, hyung!” a voice greeted loudly on purpose.

                “Good afternoon, Suwoong,” Daehyun replied casually without turning around.

                Suwoong gasped. “I can’t believe I failed again!” He threw his hands up in frustration.

                Daehyun just laughed at him. “You’re only getting worse at it.”

                “How did you know, hyung?” Suwoong went around the piano bench to stand next to the older man.

                “If I were to tell you, wouldn’t that seem like I’m digging my own grave?” Daehyun began patting the top of the studio piano.

                Suwoong guessed Daehyun was looking for his bag which was at the far end of the surface. So he moved the bag until it touched the man’s fingertips. “Just admit that you have an incredible sixth sense, hyung.”

                Daehyun put his papers inside the bag. “There won’t be any fun in doing that, right?”

                He went along with the younger man, though a blind man couldn’t have a sixth sense. He didn’t even have five senses to begin with. It was just that the senses that he had were better than anyone else’s. That, and Suwoong would have probably succeeded were he to step on a carpet instead of a tiled floor and to stop wearing such a strong cologne.

                “Have you finished your class, hyung?” Suwoong got a hold of Daehyun’s wrist to gently pull him onto the seat beside him.

                “Yeah, just now.” Daehyun placed the bag on his lap and fixed his sunglasses.

                “Where are you going later?” Suwoong asked again, his palm now lying flat on Daehyun’s back.

                “I don’t know. Home? I know it’s the only place Jongup will take me,” Daehyun chuckled. It sounded like a joke, though he knew it to be very accurate.

                Suwoong pouted and started to circle the older man in his arms, their heads leaning against each other. “I would really like to hang out with you but I’ve been busy lately.”

                “Busy?” Daehyun frowned. “What? You got yourself a girlfriend?”

                “Nope. Not yet.” Suwoong broke the hug, leaving only an arm hanging around Daehyun’s shoulders. “Just some family matters,” he added.

                Before Daehyun could say anything to that, a couple of voices were calling Suwoong’s name from outside of the room. The younger man turned to look towards the entrance and saw two of his band members.

                “Let’s start,” one of them said to him before averting his eyes to the other person in the room. “Hello there, Mr. Jung!”

                “How are you doing, Teacher Daehyun?” Another one with a higher tone also gave his greeting.

                Daehyun slightly turned towards them. “I’m doing fine.” He smiled. “And what’s with the names today?”

                “It’s because you look so young that I have to always remind myself you’re already an old man,” the deeper voice stated his reason and Daehyun snorted.

                “I almost mistook you for one of the band members,” the other quipped.

                “I’m too good to be joining your band,” Daehyun returned a playful remark which made them laugh. “And I’m not an old man!”

                “Just kidding, Daehyun hyung!” they uttered and quickly excused themselves.

                “Alright, hyung, I’ll go now.” Suwoong gave Daehyun’s back a pat.

                “Okay, have fun.” Daehyun sent the younger off with a wide smile.

                He remained seated after that as he pressed a button on his wrist watch and it told him the time. There were fifteen more minutes until Jongup’s class ended and twenty more minutes until Jongup would arrive here.

                Daehyun released a long heavy sigh. He wondered if he needed to make another tour around the entire studio today in order to avoid getting bored. It was one of those days when Jongup would finish his class right before lunch time so it would take longer for him to come and pick Daehyun up. Unlike Suwoong, he would always find a way to get off earlier than he should. But that was good. Jongup really followed the rules as a student and he should be proud of his brother, despite all the rules the younger made for him.

                Yongguk parked his car in front of Alchemy Studio. It was as big as his gym with the two story shop lot. He asked for Daehyun at the reception counter and it brought him to a room at the second floor. Standing before the door, he saw the blind man mindlessly pressing the piano keys with only one hand. The music produced still sounded good but the pianist seemed so bored to be sitting there alone. He didn’t see anyone else in the room, so maybe the lesson had ended.

                Yongguk quietly stepped in and just cleared his throat instead of calling Daehyun’s name to avoid surprising the younger man again.

                Daehyun stopped playing the piano at once. “Who is it? Did you forget something?” he asked, assuming it was one of his students.

                “Um… no, it’s me,” Yongguk responded.

                “Yongguk hyung?” Daehyun turned his head towards the door as his face crinkled into a radiant smile. “Why are you here?”

                “I thought of asking you out for lunch,” Yongguk said as he went closer to Daehyun. “It’s on me.”

                “That’d be great.” Daehyun agreed with no second thoughts. He stood up after taking out his cane from his bag. The cane unfolded and he started tapping the floor. Daehyun just made his way to where he thought the other man was at, reaching out his hand for Yongguk to take it. The older man got a hold of his hand before placing it on his arm, making Daehyun’s heart blossom again.

                Right at the same moment, Yongguk noticed something was off about the younger man. He wasn’t very sure about it before, but now that he was standing side to side with the human, he realized that Daehyun smelled a little bit different today. It was like there was another scent lingering around Daehyun’s body which was very familiar to him. But still, he couldn’t put a finger on it.

                “Yongguk hyung?” Daehyun called when the older had been silent for quite a while.

                “Hm?” Yongguk took a second to bring his mind back to the current situation. “Oh, you ready?” He asked, receiving a yes from Daehyun in return.

                After that, he guided him out of the room and Daehyun continued to talk. “But really hyung, you shouldn’t have come all the way in here. You could have just texted me and I would have quickly gotten out of here.”

                Yongguk glanced at him and smiled. “I’ll do that next time but I need to ask for your number first.”

                Daehyun chuckled, cheeks slightly tinted with pink. “Of course you do.”

                He felt all giddy inside. It was rare for him to go out with someone else other than his brother. He was so excited, that he called Jongup to tell him all about it, though afraid Jongup wouldn’t let him go out with Yongguk.  He was right. Jongup bombarded him with questions about this and that but he dodged all of them by saying that he was already in Yongguk’s car so Jongup didn’t have to come and pick him up at the studio anymore.

                Yongguk only listened to Daehyun’s loud conversation while driving to a decent restaurant. He felt like he was kidnapping Daehyun but then the victim himself was willingly abducted. That made him feel less guilty towards Jongup.

                “I believe your brother usually goes to the studio to take you home at this time,” Yongguk spoke up after Daehyun finished his phone call.

                “You got that right.” Daehyun sighed. “I don’t know how many times I’ve told him that he doesn’t have to. I definitely can go home on my own.”

                “Wow, he’s a real deal, huh?” Yongguk laughed. “Does he usually send you off to the studio too?”

                “Depends,” Daehyun paused to have a thought about it. “If his class is at the same time as mine, he’ll never miss the chance to walk me to the studio. If not, I’ll happily go by myself. But he made sure that I got to work safely by giving me a call. And when it’s time for me to go home, he forces me to stay at the studio until he comes and picks me up,” he explained.

                “You must have a lot of free time while waiting for him,” Yongguk said, keeping his eyes on the road.

                “You bet. I always wander around the studio and by now every single staff and customer already knows me.”

                Daehyun’s cute rant put a smile on Yongguk’s face. “So that’s what you were planning to do hadn’t I come earlier?”

                “What else would I be doing? Jongup would nag at me if he arrived at the studio and I’m not there,” Daehyun dared to say that because he had done it and it was more than one time.

                Yongguk chuckled. “It seems like you’re the younger one here.”

                “Yeah, I get that a lot. Jongup is two years younger than me but people always say he’s the older one,” Daehyun couldn’t help but laugh as he recalled all of the funny situations.

                “Won’t you be happy to look younger?” Yongguk glanced at the latter.

                “Nooo…” Daehyun whined. “I feel like a child, moreover when he cares for me 24/7.”

                “But he lied to you about my looks.”

                “Yeah, he has that evil side of him since birth,” Daehyun replied in annoyance.

                Yongguk shook his head, amused at the siblings’ antics before something crossed his mind. “You must have asked him about it,” he guessed.

                Daehyun, who kept his gaze straight forward all the time, had to cast it down as the statement caught him off guard and made him blush furiously. “I-I was curious…”

                “You could have just directly asked me if you wanted to feel my face like you did yesterday.” Yongguk liked the sight of a shy Daehyun and he enjoyed teasing him more.

                “Well… I have a thought you’d think I’m weird if I do that when we’ve just met for a couple of times… But… I was really curious yesterday…” Daehyun was so embarrassed, that his words almost sounded like incoherent mumbling.

                “Nah, I wouldn’t. I’d just think that you’re adorable,” Yongguk returned, causing Daehyun’s cheeks to redden even more.

                Yongguk had to bite his lips to hold his laugh. Daehyun was seriously too cute, getting all shy like that but he decided to stop the teasing right there, as well as his car. “We’re here,” he announced.

                Daehyun finally lifted his head. “That was fast.”

                “It’s not that far.” Yongguk unfastened his seatbelt. “Enjoyed the ride?”

                “Yeah. I like your car,” Daehyun smiled, tracing his fingers along the armrest at the door.

                “Well, thank you.” Yongguk leaned towards the passenger side to set Daehyun’s seatbelt in its place after removing them. “And don’t worry. You still can ride it after this. Maybe more frequently.”

                Daehyun’s cheeks were burning up. He could feel Yongguk’s breath on his face as the man said that. He had already shied away when Yongguk helped him fasten the seatbelt earlier. But now Yongguk was giving him subtle hints that they would continue to meet each other and it made his heart thump faster.

                “Let’s go,” Yongguk said, drawing Daehyun’s attention back to him. “But wait here. I’ll get the door.”

                “Okay,” Daehyun said, listening to the sound of Yongguk opening and shutting the door. A moment later, he felt a gust of air when his door was opened.

                “Come.” Yongguk took Daehyun’s hand in his and the younger man put a foot out of the car before another. “Watch your head,” he warned though his hand was already lingering over Daehyun’s head to prevent anything from hurting his mate.

                Once Daehyun got out of the car, Yongguk noticed that the sightless man left his bag in there. “Where’s your cane?” he asked.

                “I don’t think I need it. As long as you don’t run away and leave me alone,” Daehyun warned in a playful way.

                Yongguk just stared at Daehyun even though those eyes were covered with dark glasses. The way Daehyun said that somehow made his heart swell with happiness because for him, it could be the sign of gaining Daehyun’s trust.

                His lips slowly curled into an endearing smile. “I won’t.”

                “They have all sorts of pasta, chicken, pork and steak,” Yongguk told Daehyun after they had settled down at a table in the restaurant.

                Daehyun had a thought for a moment. “I think I want spaghetti.”

                “Okay,” Yongguk took a look at the menu the waiter had given them and read all of the spaghetti dishes. “There are carbonara, tomato, Bolognese, mushroom, Alfredo, cream-”

                “That’s enough,” Daehyun cut in with a laugh. “I’ll just have spaghetti Bolognese and a Coke.”

                “Alright,” Yongguk beckoned the same waiter to their table. “One spaghetti Bolognese, one sirloin steak, two Cokes,” he told the boy.

                The waiter repeated their orders before leaving with the menus. Shortly after that, he came back to place a plate on their table, bowing at both of them but only got Yongguk to return his smile.

                “He brought us garlic breads,” Yongguk stated, taking one from the plate before pushing it forward until it touched Daehyun’s hand.

                Daehyun gladly found a piece for himself. He held the bread using both of his hands as he munched it, very much like a squirrel in Yongguk’s view.

                “So what do you like to do besides teaching piano?” Yongguk asked.

                “Well, I like gardening,” Daehyun answered earnestly.

                “Oh yeah, that explains all the flowers in your backyard,” Yongguk chuckled. “My father likes gardening too.”

                “Don’t you?” Daehyun asked.

                Yongguk shook his head, forgetting that Daehyun couldn’t see it. “I prefer shifting- ah!” He surprised himself and shut his mouth by covering it with his fist. Daehyun frowned.

                “I mean… I mean climbing!” Yongguk was fast to think of a cover up. “Yeah, I prefer climbing. Wall climbing, rock climbing, tree climbing. I prefer climbing trees than growing them.” He laughed airily.

                “That explains why you suddenly appeared in my backyard the first time we met.”

                “Yeah… I enjoy night walks too…” Yongguk rubbed his forehead, telling himself to get his mind straight.

                Daehyun nodded. “I wonder what you do for a living.” He tilted his head slightly to the side.

                Yongguk was relieved Daehyun didn’t notice his blurt. “I work at a gym.”

                Now Daehyun knew why Yongguk’s arms felt like steel. Not only that Yongguk liked to climb but the well-built man also worked at a gym.

                “Cool,” Daehyun said in awe. “I haven’t been there for so long.”

                “Really?”

                “Yeah, Jongup has been busy with school and he doesn’t let me go on my own.” Daehyun’s annoyed tone was mixed with disappointment.

                Yongguk just smiled at Daehyun’s cute pout. “Where is he studying at?”

                “Yewon Arts College.”

                “Oh,” Yongguk perked up. “My clan’s omega- no- uh…” He almost cursed when he accidently blurted out about his secret life again. “I mean my cousin is also a student there.”

                “You know, your speech is very clear to my ears but you have to connect your words properly to form a sentence that I can understand,” Daehyun joked.

                “Yeah, I always have a hard time to say what is actually on my mind. I don’t talk much, remember?” Yongguk scratched his head bashfully, once again relieved that Daehyun failed to catch the things he said in the first place.

                Daehyun snickered, finding an inept Yongguk to be quite cute. “It’s okay. I think we’re off with a good start to change that.”

                More than an hour later, Yongguk had to reluctantly send Daehyun home since he needed to get back to work. He would spend all day with the younger man if he could. But that was only possible if Jongup allowed him because when he reached Daehyun’s house, Jongup was there, waiting for them outside with a sullen expression.

                Jongup put a finger on his lips as soon as Yongguk stopped his car. Yongguk had an idea that the younger man didn’t want his brother to know that he was there. He wasn’t intimidated about it but he wondered what Jongup was trying to do.

                “Here we are,” Yongguk uttered before going out of his car to open the door for Daehyun.

                Daehyun got out with the help of Yongguk again, this time carrying the bag along with him. When Yongguk left him standing there to close the door, there was a familiar scent lingering in the air. “It smells like Jongup,” he spoke up. “Is he outside?”

                Yongguk didn’t see that coming. Daehyun was practically standing a foot away from his younger brother but still, Yongguk was very impressed at Daehyun’s smelling ability. He turned to look at Jongup, who was shaking his head at him.

                “No, I don’t see him anywhere,” Yongguk lied to his mate and he felt terrible.

                Daehyun’s brows furrowed. “Weird.”

                When they reached the door, Yongguk directly asked for the keys from Daehyun. “So… can I have you number now?” He made a shy request while returning the keys to the younger man after he had opened the door.

                Daehyun’s lips pulled into a wide smile, revealing his fine upper teeth. “Sure.”

                After saving the said numbers in Daehyun’s full name, Yongguk really couldn’t wipe the stupid grin off his face. He was sure he would look like a fool if Daehyun could see him.“I’ll give you a call sometime,” he muttered sheepishly.

                Daehyun lowered his head as he made his way into the house. His face felt so hot and he knew he probably looked embarrassing to Yongguk. He turned around nonetheless, chewing on his lips nervously. “I’d like that.”

                After managing to hold himself from wobbling down to the floor, Yongguk finally said his goodbyes to the sightless man. Jongup immediately made an approach before the fast beating of his heart could subside.

                “What do you want from my brother?” Jongup asked out of nowhere, arms crossed against his chest.

                “Nothing...?” Yongguk was puzzled; this was so different from the kind and warm Jongup he had met in the same place.

                “How did you first meet him?” Jongup inquired.

                “I stumbled upon him one night. He was taking care of his flowers in the backyard,” Yongguk told him the truth.

                Jongup narrowed his gaze. “Didn’t you first meet him somewhere in the town?”

                “No.”

                It was the same thing he heard from his brother. Yongguk seemed fearless when he admitted it, making Jongup slightly perplexed with his honesty. However, he was still suspicious towards Yongguk.

                “How could you say that you accidentally came to our backyard? And during the night,” Jongup countered.

                “I was just taking a walk.” Yongguk shrugged.

                Jongup scoffed because he surely wouldn’t believe that. “You better don’t do anything to hurt my brother. Just because he’s blind, it doesn’t mean you can use him for your own good,” he gave Yongguk a warning.

                “But-” Yongguk couldn’t say a thing when Jongup was already making his way into the house, shutting the door without sparing a glance at him. Finding a mate was harder than he had ever thought.

Proofread by Sempiternalis

A/N:

Thank you for being patient! Happy New Year!!!☆☆☆☆☆彡

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