TY_Track: Here you go
TY_Track sent an image

Taeyong sent the photo of his sketch about mid-morning, when he knew Yuta would be fully immersed in a shoot and away from his phone, and then shut his own off until after his exam. It worked well enough to keep his mind focused and gave him the reward of Yuta’s response once his school day was done.

NaYut: This is incredible!!!!
NaYut: What the heck
NaYut: You’re so talented

Taeyong’s cheeks flushed and Doyoung immediately started teasing him for it.

NaYut: You should be an artist
NaYut: Even better! A Manga-ka *-*
TY_Track: Funny you should say that…

“Hyung, pay attention to me,” Doyoung whined. “Stop talking to your boyfriend.”

“He’s not my boyfriend.”

“Isn’t he though?” Jaehyun asked, eyes soft and voice genuine, despite knowing that he stepped into the middle of Doyoung’s sass. He set the tray of food between them: sandwiches for him and Doyoung, and a salad and chocolate coronet for Taeyong.

“You know eating a salad doesn’t negate all of the desserts you eat all the time,” Doyoung muttered around a mouthful of tonkatsu sandwich.

“Bite me,” Taeyong deadpanned back, poking into his meal.

“So how is the boyfriend?” Jaehyun chimed in. “I feel like you haven’t talked about him in a bit.”

“He’s not my boyfriend I’m...ugh...it’s okay,” Taeyong shrugged a shoulder, “Not much to say.” Actually there was a lot but he didn’t like to say much around Doyoung since Yuta always seemed to rub him the wrong way. Taeyong got it. Or at least he thought he did, with Doyoung’s aversion to all things soulmate. Sometimes he got the vibe that he was jealous. But of what, Taeyong had no idea.

Jaehyun smiled. “I’m glad things are going well. You seem a lot happier these days.”

“He helps me a lot with my Japanese tests, it’s been a blessing,” Taeyong laughed, setting his salad aside for the dessert.

“So when do you think you’re going to visit him?”

Doyoung let out a low whine, nearly choking on his bite. “Visit?” He and Taeyong said simultaneously.

“Yeah?” Jaehyun looked between the two, surprised there was so much shock on his friends’ faces,.“It’s been a month or so, right? And we have a vacation coming up so why not?”

“I, uh, guess I didn’t think about that…It costs too much to fly though,” Taeyong glanced back down at his food. “I don’t have the money.”

“Isn’t he like a famous model?” Doyoung asked with only a hint of attitude in his tone. “Couldn’t he help you out?”

“I don’t want to ask.”

“You’re never going to see each other at this rate,” Jaehyun chuckled.

“We will. I’m not too worried. There’s no rush either.” Not when Taeyong was planning to move there, but he didn’t like talking about that with his friends. He stole a glance to his phone, a waiting message from Yuta:

NaYut: Why? Are you a manga-ka??

“I’m excited for you two to meet.” Taeyong’s attention snapped back to the conversation at hand. Jaehyun was so genuine, and so supportive of his friends that sometimes Taeyong felt unworthy. He never asked for anything in return, even when he put money down for their meals. Taeyong tried to cook dinner for the other pair in their dorms at least twice a month, but even then it never felt equal. At least with Doyoung there was the high levels of sass that made Taeyong feel a little more balanced.

His lips quirked into an awkward smile. “Thank you,” he replied, dipping his finger in the visible chocolate and it off to give his hands something to do with the little bit of anxiousness that coursed through him. He didn’t notice the way Doyoung started to sink into himself in his chair. “I am too.”

But Doyoung didn’t stay that way for long and soon it was as if nothing was off between them, after the conversation had shifted away from Yuta and towards the topic of their impending exams. And eventually they tore themselves away from each other and their meals to return back to class.

That night Taeyong set up his laptop for a video chat he was an hour late for, pushing back every 20 minutes with apologetic text messages sent Yuta’s way. Yuta was smiling regardless of the delay, greeting the Korean male with a cheery “Annyeong” and a small wave. Taeyong’s cheeks flushed immediately. “How do you exist,” he muttered back, refusing to repeat himself when Yuta asked him what he said.

Seeing Yuta ‘in front’ of him was inspirational. Taeyong pulled a sketchbook out to draw as they spoke about their days, hoping to maximize on these moments with his newfound muse.

“What’re you doing?” Yuta asked, peering down as if he’d be able to see Taeyong’s work without Taeyong’s camera being adjusted.

“Drawing,” Taeyong hummed.

“Oh, show me!”

“When I’m done,” Taeyong glanced up, a glint in his eyes and a cheeky smirk on his lips.

Yuta sat back in his seat and pouted, crossing his arms over his chest. “You know you never answered me earlier.”

“Hm?”

“About being a manga-ka.”

“Oh.”

“Don’t just say ‘oh.’ Answer me!”

“Calm down, you’re on speaker,” Taeyong pointed to the lack of headphones in his ears. He was reveling in teasing Yuta, loving the way the other’s nose scrunched up when he started to get frustrated. He’d have to draw that next. “I want to be a manga-ka,” he finally gave in. “It’s why I’ve been studying Japanese but...I don’t know.”

“What don’t you know?” Yuta pressed, linking his fingers under his chin.

“We’ll see if I’m able to make it to Japan like I want to after school finishes,” he glanced around, knowing that the likelihood of his uncle or cousins overhearing was slim but worrying nonetheless. “My family doesn’t know that it’s what I want to do. I don’t think they’ll like it.”

“No?”

“No. My uncle wants me to take over his business. We’ll see…”

“You’re so good at drawing, you should do it!”

‘Easier said than done,’ Taeyong thought, but Yuta’s conviction was quite cute. Taeyong didn’t want to shut it down.

“Have you ever been to Japan?” Yuta asked.

“Once with my mom and dad when I was really young but not since.”

“You should come!” The way Yuta perked up made him seem incredibly puppylike. “Come visit, I can show you around. If we plan it right I can take you to Osaka,” he smiled so brightly, “I’d like that a lot.”

“Ah. Me too,” Taeyong felt a little exasperated at the thought. They’d known each other for a month maybe? Was it too soon? But they were soulmates. So did “soon” even matter? And it wasn’t like he hadn’t thought about this for a bit now. “I was actually talking to my friends about this earlier.”

“Yeah? You wanna come?”

“I...do. I’d like to if I could.”

“Let’s plan something!”

“I don’t have a lot of money right now to plan a trip. But maybe I can try to do something.”

“What if I came to Korea?”

Taeyong cocked a brow before returning his focus back to his sketch. The best way to hide his nerves at the thought of them actually meeting. “I don’t know where you’d stay.”

“We can figure it out. I know Hansol wanted to visit his family. Maybe I can tag along.”

Yuta had solutions for everything. Taeyong shook his head, eyes still down so he missed the cocky raise of Yuta’s shot glass towards the camera. He was sipping on his sake tonight, something he always seemed to have no matter when they skyped. “We’ll see…” Taeyong’s voice trailed off. “Hey, here.” He held his sketchbook up, adjusting the camera to focus on a quick front facing bust shot of Yuta smiling, fingers tucking his hair behind his ears. It was a habit Taeyong noticed Yuta would do whenever he was flustered. Since Taeyong liked teasing him Yuta so much, he got to see this action fairly often. “What do you think?”

“Why are you so good at this?” Yuta’s awe made Taeyong blush.

“Years of practice.”

“I want that one.”

“I’ll message it to you. And…you can come pick it up when you visit Korea.”

“Makes me want to come even faster,” Yuta cooed and it sent a near visible shiver through Taeyong. No wonder he was popular… He’d been avoiding reading and watching Yuta’s interviews partially out of respect for Yuta’s peculiarity about his career identity and his personal self, but also because Taeyong himself wasn’t sure he was ready to see Yuta acting flirty with interviewers and fans. Sometimes he thought it was jealousy; despite his inability to pinpoint exactly what emotions he had towards their relationship. Other times he worried he’d be ambivalent. Unsure of which was worse, he knew that it’d make him uncomfortable regardless..

A buzzing from his bed saved him from having to reply to that and he caught up to his phone just as the call ended.

“Who’s that?” Yuta asked with a tilt of his head.

Taeyong received a message a beat after.

EnergizeDy: I need ur help w an assignment
EnergizeDy: r u ignoring me?
EnergizeDy: r u talking to Him
EnergizeDy: Is that y

Taeyong breathed a sigh and pinched at the bridge of his nose. It was already so hard to tell what Doyoung was thinking through his text messages. Adding in the layer that he took everything related to Yuta as a personal attack, Taeyong felt a bit at a loss.

TY_Track: Sorry, didn’t mean to miss your call

“What’s wrong?” Yuta asked, taking another sip of sake.

EnergizeDy: can u help me with tmr hw
TY_Track: I’m a little busy, sorry

It hurt him to say no to his friend but he really didn’t want to cut his video call short. They’d already started late because of his family obligations and he just wasn’t ready to say goodbye to Yuta yet. It was nice when he didn’t have to focus his energy into sentence structure, when he could just draw freely chat with someone who felt like a childhood friend. But should he neglect an actual childhood friend for it?

“Hello,” Yuta’s voice cut in, confusion and concern pouring through his tone. “What’s going on?”

EnergizeDy: hyung pls
EnergizeDy: wht r u doing?

Taeyong sighed again, biting at his nails when Yuta tried to get his attention again. “Sorry,” he snipped quickly then caught himself, his eyes going a little wide and his tone apologetic. “Sorry, sorry. Everything’s fine.”

“Want to talk about it?”

Taeyong looked from his phone back up to Yuta. Did he? He tried to be open but not overbearing. Yuta didn’t need to hear about Taeyong’s problems with his friends. “It’s okay,” but he was still biting at his nails and looking with drawn brows at his phone.

“Is it okay? What’s happening?”

“I…” He set his phone down next to the sketchbook, “My friend doesn’t really like our…”

He paused. What were they exactly? They had a relationship with one another but were not In A Relationship. Taeyong couldn’t quite think of the right word so he just motioned vaguely between the two of them. “He thinks soulmates are stupid and I understand but I don’t agree.”

Yuta’s lips parted but Taeyong hurried forward before he could continue this part of the conversation. “So he needs help with homework but I don’t want to leave. And I feel bad about it.”

“Why don’t you go? I don’t mind. We can talk later.” There was that smile. It made Taeyong blush.

“I don’t want to…” Taeyong said softly. “I’d rather talk to you.”

The low lighting in Yuta’s apartment made it hard to tell but Taeyong couldn’t help but think the other was blushing.

“Want me to beat him up?” He asked with a bright grin and a loud laugh, flexing a muscle in video frame. “I’m a mountain man after all!”

“What? No! No no no,” Taeyong, startled, held his hands up but started laughing along with Yuta too. “Don’t do that. Just...listen.”

“Okay, I’m listening.”

Yuta’s gentleness surprised Taeyong even more than his faux-aggressive schtick. “Thank you. Just... I just feel bad, but I think I want to take tonight for myself.”

“Tell him that?” Yuta suggested. “He’s your friend, he’ll understand. I’m never that nice to Ten and he always gets annoyed when I can’t manage the energy to hang out.”

Taeyong sighed, nodded, then, before he could think too hard on it and triple guess himself, sent a message:

TY_Track: Sorry. I can help you in an hour? Or I’ll look over your work tomorrow. I just can’t right now.

In a panic he switched his phone to silent and tossed it onto his bed. Yuta clocked him for it instantly. “Was that what you did to me that night I upset you?”

“W-What? No- I-... I mean...”

“Gotcha,” Yuta winked, finger guns at the ready and it was so cheesy Taeyong, hoping to seem less sheepish about it, very visibly rolled his eyes.

Yuta was playing, but he found himself with some discomfort at Taeyong’s closest friend feeling against their relationship--however one may define it. He didn’t enjoy competition; while he didn’t necessarily think that he was in competition for Taeyong’s affection just the fact that someone else did made him wary. He wondered if he’d be good enough. Just because fate dictated their pairing hardly meant they were right for one another. Taeyong’s friend Doyoung wasn’t really off the mark on his concerns there. He also wondered what Taeyong’s affections were like. The other male seemed so put together whenever they spoke, barring that one night when he drank himself silly, that it was hard for Yuta to tell what was real and what may be an act.

It had Yuta worried. If he wasn’t the right one, would he even know? Or would he be selfish enough to take Taeyong away from the people who should probably mean more than he, himself?

“I try not to… You know. Do that too often. I don’t like ignoring my friends but he’s just been very, I don’t know, annoying? About it all. We used to talk about everything and now that I can’t bring you up it feels awkward. I don’t like it,” Taeyong continued before Yuta could spiral down much further into his thoughts. “If we weren’t chatting I’d have biked to his dorm but tonight I really would rather talk to you.”

“Well, I’m here! Let’s talk. What makes him so against the whole thing? My friends aren’t soulmate fanatics but I don’t know anyone that dislikes the idea.”

“It’s a family thing. I don’t blame him… His parents weren’t good matches for each other.” That struck a bad chord with Yuta. He hadn’t chased away those “What if I’m not good enough” thoughts far enough away; now they had more food to feed on. With Taeyong’s attention still on his paper, Yuta took another shot. “I do understand but I just don’t agree with him anymore--”

“Anymore? Did you before?”

“Well, yes and no. I wasn’t as aggressive as he was, I just didn’t put a lot of stock into the idea.”

If Yuta were really as confident as he pretended to be he would’ve asked, “Was it your flawless soulmate who changed your mind?” with a wiggle of his eyebrows. He’d tease and joke about his own greatness if he could. But he couldn’t find it in him to poke fun or exalt someone he truly didn’t find a lot of value in. Instead he said, “You know I didn’t put a lot of thought into it either before. I just thought it was another broken part of me.”

Taeyong tilted his head a bit. “Broken?” he asked back.

“Oh!” Yuta tried to backtrack quickly. “I didn’t mean broken like broken, I just meant like one of those things that doesn’t work out.”

Taeyong nodded, recalling one of their first text conversations when Yuta got drunk and talked about his concerns, about messing up his modeling career. “Well…” He started, tongue sliding over his bottom lip while he worked the words around in his head. It was a lot for someone as emotionally distant as he pretended to be. Yet it felt like there was no better moment to say what he wanted to. “I think it worked out really well. So I hope you feel the same way.” As soon as the words left his mouth he found himself tensing his shoulders and shaking out his hands to remove the cringe from his body. “Too much,” he laughed. “Too much. Jaehyun teases that I’ll never be able to write shoujo manga and he’s right.”

“I do!” Yuta blurted out, momentarily being stunned by Taeyong’s confession. “I mean, it’s been nice to get to know you. I like talking a lot, even if we haven’t met each other yet I feel like you’ve become a really important part of my life. But…” A pause, “Your friend is right, you’ll be awful at shoujo.”

Taeyong was certain his cheeks were bright red. He deflected the admittance of them both liking each other or whatever that was by commenting, “What do you know about shoujo?”

“Not much, you’re right,” Yuta hummed. “I read more .”

“What!?”

Yuta burst out laughing. “Kidding kidding. Oh man the look on your face is everything. Is it that weird? We’re both men, aren’t we?”

“Yeah, I just…” Taeyong cleared his throat, eyes downcast to voice facing how embarrassed he looked. “Didn’t expect you to be so upfront.”

Yuta’s giggling and teasing didn’t stop until their call ended thirty minutes later. “Hey, next time we talk let’s plan that trip okay?”

“Okay,” Taeyong’s lips split into a smile. “Next time. ‘Night.”

Taeyong reconnected with a very pouty Doyoung immediately after. It was too late for him to visit so he offered up a video call in apology. His friend didn’t seem too pleased but wasn’t upset enough to not take Taeyong on the offer. “Do you always talk this late?” he asked curtly.

“Huh? Yuta and I? We don’t talk much at all.”

“Okay,” Doyoung shuffled something in front of him and then Taeyong heard the clunk of the textbook book onto his desk. “So page 108…”

In between walking Doyoung through the problem sets, Taeyong started sketching out an idea that popped into his head. He didn’t need to do much work to help his friend, anyway. Doyoung was smart just unsure. Unlike Taeyong, and Taeyong’s uncle’s hopes for him, Doyoung actually had a passion for business. He just had a bit of a perfectionist complex about it and needed moral support.

“You’re ignoring me,” Doyoung whined.

“I’m not! I’m helping you. Doyoung, you’re good at this stuff. You’re ranked top 2 in our class, just relax,” he shot him a smile, received a shy smile back, then went back to his storyboard.

“Am I missing anything else?”

He set his pencil down and looked back to his friend. “I don’t think so. Actually I think I need to re-do some of my problems after hearing your answers…”

“But you won’t,” Doyoung rolled his eyes and Taeyong smirked.

“Nope.”

“Okay, well thanks for your help. Sorry I kept you up so late.”

“Sorry I made you wait so long,” Taeyong meant it, and he hoped Doyoung would feel his sincerity. “See you tomorrow?”

“Always.”

Taeyong clicked camera off and shut his laptop, taking the next thirty minutes to finish his drawing.

TY_Track: Hey
NaYut: You’re still awake?
TY_Track: Helped Doyoung out
NaYut: You’re a good friend^^

Taeyong blushed.

TY_Track: Thanks
TY_Track: Hey…
TY_Track sent two photos.
TY_Track: Okay good night

x

“You’re getting really good,” Jaehyun beamed, looking over Taeyong’s two page comic when he shyly slid it across the table a few weeks after he’d initially sketched it. “You did this all in a night?”

“It’s not much,” Taeyong replied sheepishly. “Two pages in an hour and a half is pretty slow but I’m getting there. I’ve been practicing over the last week to get a little faster.”

“Is there more of this?”

Taeyong shook his head, “No.”

“So this is him I’m guessing?” Jaehyun pointed to the long haired, long faced, character in the school girl outfit.

“How’d you know?” Taeyong laughed slightly, feeling his cheeks warm up already. “I told him your joke about shoujo manga when we were chatting and then kinda ran with the idea.”

“Maybe I’ll take it back.”

“Don’t, I don’t want to do shoujo.”

“Whatcha reading?” Doyoung popped over, peering over Jaehyun’s shoulder at Taeyong’s comic. Taeyong stiffened and considered, for a moment, snatching his phone back. But that would hurt Doyoung more than his friend seeing the silly sketches he’d done.

“Looks nice,” Doyoung hummed, looking away quickly and taking a seat. “Not your usual style though. Not as into super heroes anymore?”

“Thought I’d change it up,” Taeyong shrugged, hoping the subject would be dropped and Doyoung would lose his hard edge.

“Seems like you’re changing a lot of things,” Doyoung continued. “Your art style, your availability, your priorities to your friends, you stance on soulmates.”

“Doyoung,” Jaehyun started softly, bringing a hand down on the other’s thigh to calm him down.

“What? I’m just saying what’s true. He didn’t join us for dinner the other night--”

“I had to tutor my cousin,” Taeyong interjected. His face was getting hot, heart racing because he hated having to defend himself but even more than that he hated fighting with his friends, Doyoung especially.

“And he’s not joining us tonight to make up for it.”

Taeyong’s lips drew into a line. Tonight he had another video chat with Yuta. His soulmate had insisted yesterday night that they talk today and kept hinting at something important and exciting all throughout the day’s text messages. “Sorry,” Taeyong muttered, worrying his bottom lip between his teeth, “It seems important, he doesn’t want to wait.” “He’s kind of impatient like that,” he thought about adding and then decided against it. Doyoung didn’t need more against Yuta. “I’ll make it up to you Thursday. I’ll bring all your favorite sweets and I’ll make spicy pork bulgolgi and--”

“Is it more important than your friends?” When Doyoung was mad his eyes would stick to the floor and his ears would change color as his voice grew louder. He didn’t have the best volume control when he wasn’t thinking about it. Now was one of those moments; his ears burned red. “Is he more important than us? Just because we’re not famous Japanese models are you over wasting your time with us?”

“Doyoung, it’s not a competition,” Taeyong bit back. “Just because I’m not 100% focused on you--which, I’ve always had to care for my family so it’s not as if things haven’t gotten in the way of our plans before--it doesn’t mean I don’t care about you.”

“What do you know about caring? You’re the coldest person in the whole university. Can your new boyfriend even warm that heart of yours?”

“Hey!”

“Hey,” Jaehyun put his hands between the two of them, Taeyong now on his feet and utterly fuming. “Calm down, okay? We can talk this out.”

“If I’d done something to you then fine, be mad at me. But don’t call me cold and think that you’re the one being hurt here. And don’t bring him into this like you know him. Sorry I’m actually into my soulmate,” Taeyong paused then. He hadn’t really considered where his actual feelings aligned in all this. He’d only thought that, well, Yuta was nice and they clicked well… But being ‘into’ him was much different and Taeyong over his bottom lip, refocusing himself. “Sorry I like who he is and the conversations we have. I was doing my best to balance it all but clearly if you can’t see it that way then there’s nothing I can do to convince you. Except drop him, which I won’t.” He snatched his phone from the table and gathered his books into his arms. Then, slinging his bag over his shoulder, he stormed out of the cafe before Doyoung could set him off further.

Jaehyun, reassuring Doyoung that he’d help fix this and would (more importantly) be back to hear whatever else Doyoung wanted to say, took off after Taeyong.

Taeyong hadn’t gotten too far, huffing his way over to a park nearby. Jaehyun caught him kicking at a rock while he paced between the trees, knuckles turning white from how tightly he was gripping the strap of his backpack. Always the type to keep his emotions tucked away into the deepest corners of his mind, Taeyong needed to be diffused or else he was primed to explode; Jaehyun was hoping to accomplish the task.

He startled Taeyong by placing a hand on his elbow and smoothly guided him to a bench before the other could protest too much.

“You know Doyoung didn’t mean what he said, right?”

“He still said it,” Taeyong replied sharply, bringing the nail of his right thumb between his teeth, “And he didn’t need to bring Yuta into this.”

“I know, and he shouldn’t have,” Jaehyun agreed. He rested his hand on Taeyong’s leg and pat it gently. “For what it’s worth I’m not upset over anything. I think you’ve done a good job balancing everything.”

“It doesn’t matter that Doyoung doesn’t recognize it but it’s not my fault that he can’t get over himself on this soulmate thing. I didn’t choose this but I’m not going to ignore it. He shouldn’t expect me to.”

“Doyoung… Has a lot to work through. A lot more than just his soulmate complex.”

Taeyong rolled his eyes, “Then why won’t he just talk to me about it? I can’t help if I don’t know what’s wrong.”

At that Jaehyun smiled slightly, “Some things aren’t that easy. But I bet he’ll come around soon. Give him some time?”

“He has all the time he could want. Until he apologizes to me I’m not going to bother him.”

Jaehyun’s hand moved from Taeyong’s thigh to the crook of his elbow, gently pulling his hand back down into his lap and away from his nervous habit. “I’ll make sure he comes around soon.”

“That’s not your job. Not if he doesn’t want to.”

“I’m sure he already feels awful for it and is trying to come up with ways to apologize. We both know he’s like that. Remember when he broke Taeil’s toy guitar in elementary school and rattled off five different explanations and apologies before Taeil could even tell him it wasn’t a problem at all?”

Taeyong let out a small laugh. He remembered watching Taeil’s attempts to quiet Doyoung for five seconds and how their young friend just when on and on about what he’d do to make up for it until finally Taeil’s palm slipped over Doyoung’s lips so he could tell him it was alright. Speaking of, he hadn’t heard from Taeil since his moved to Busan post-graduation. He made a mental note to reach out later.

With a sigh, Taeyong’s shoulders lost their stiffness and he glanced to the ground. “You don’t think I’m cold, do you?” He asked Jaehyun after a moment. “Do other people think I’m that cold?” Did Yuta think he was cold?

“Hyung, you’re not cold. Calm and collected, yeah, but not cold. If you were Doyoung wouldn’t be able to bribe you with sweets in return for homework help.”

“I guess…”

“You guess? Well, I know that that’s the case,” Jaehyun insisted. “And he’ll tell you he didn’t mean it whenever you’re ready to talk to him. Trust me.”

“I do, Jaehyun… You know I do.” People may think that Taeyong was calm but really he was nothing without Jaehyun. His friend was unshakable-- always so sturdy and supportive. Taeyong might look calm on the outside but it was only to mask the whirlwind of uncertainty that filled him at any given moment. Taeyong would always treat Jaehyun’s word as law, since it never led him astray. “You’re going to talk to him after this, right?”

Jaehyun nodded.

“Alright. Just… Mention I need some time I guess. Just a little bit, and that I’ll need an apology for me and Yuta, but that I’m not going to be mad forever. I don’t want him to worry that I hate him or anything.”

He was met with a bright smile that made his cheeks tint a bit in embarrassment that there was even a fight to begin with, despite still feeling a little heated. “I’ll tell him, don’t worry. It’ll be okay.”

“I know,” Taeyong fished his phone from his pocket to check the time. “I should probably get home.”

“Have fun on your call. Let me know what big exciting news he has planned for you, yeah?” Jaehyun stood as Taeyong did and helped him gather his books.

“I will. Thanks again, Jaehyunnie. I’ll cook your favorite meal later this week.”

“I’ll hold you to that!” His friend beamed. “Now I need to make sure Doyoung hasn’t torn the cafe up. I’ll message you tonight!” He took off first, back towards where they’d both come from while Taeyong started down the path home.

That night Yuta practically bounded towards his computer, a bright grin on his face and no inclination to drink on his mind. He had been dying to tell Taeyong since he and Hansol came up with the idea, but it was Hansol who told him not to do anything until they confirmed time off of work and bought their tickets. Now, with his flight confirmation to Incheon on his phone and his passport next to his laptop, he just needed Taeyong to pop up online so he could share the good news. They’d finally get to meet each other; Yuta couldn’t contain his excitement.

It was 8:05PM and they agreed to meet at 8.

Taeyong was almost too punctual, and if he couldn’t be he always informed Yuta via text. He didn’t remember receiving any messages about postponing, but he checked his Line anyway to make sure.

Nothing there…

Taeyong still wasn’t online. But Yuta decided that maybe he was just loosening up. He didn’t need him to be on a strict schedule; he’d freed his whole night for Taeyong.

When it reached 9PM and he still hadn’t gotten an update Yuta grew a little worried.

NaYut: Hey, you there?
NaYut: Are you still free to chat?

Another thirty minutes passed.

NaYut: (๑•﹏•)
NaYut: Are you okay? Did something happen?

Taeyong was the type to shut people out when he was upset, after all.

NaYut: Did I do something?

He didn’t hear from Taeyong at all that night and, concerned that something had happened and whether or not it was his doing, Yuta found himself breaking open the bottle of sake he’d bought right before agreeing to go to Korea with Hansol.

Yuta drank his way until partway through the night then shot one more message towards Taeyong.

NaYut: I’m coming to Korea this weekend. I’d like to see you, okay?

And before it felt too serious, as if he was betraying everything he was trying to hide, he added,

NaYut: ^^