Kill Them With Kindness

For Zoe

Seungyoon was hurrying down the hall. He didn’t have time for this yet he had accepted his professor’s proposition without a moment of contemplation. What happened to thinking things through? He said to himself as he burst through the doors to what should now be an abandoned auditorium.

A little out of breath he dropped his things at the nearest row of chairs before looking around. It didn’t take him long to find him. Sitting down by the lecturer’s desk, feet crossed with a book in his hand.

"Nam Taehyun"

He knew him well enough, not personally but he was the  type of guy you heard things about. As they were both now in their last year at the university had Seungyoon found out more than enough to make up his opinion. His conclusion? He didn’t like him one bit.

Picking up his things he made his way down between the rows towards where Taehyun was sitting. He didn’t look up once and there was no greeting either.

After giving up on being greeted first he gave a small cough, put up the best smile he could manage and introduced himself. Taehyun finally looked up and closed his book before replying

"I know who you are, I take it you know who I am as well?"

This was exactly why he thought he didn’t like this guy. His attitude, the way his eyebrows arched mockingly at him as he spoke. He had a pleasant enough voice however and he found himself wondering if Taehyun ever tried singing.

He himself studied music, classic guitar and music production. As far as he knew was Taehyun a painter, one of his pictures had already been framed in gold and put up by the principal’s office. That must have pumped up his ego a few notches.

"So how do you want to go about this?"

Taehyun asked as he straightened up in his seat. Seungyoon had yet to give the matter much thought as he had found out only a few hours ago.

"We want to win so we better think of something clever"

Was his reply and Taehyun had responded by laughing.

"Obviously, there isn’t a question if we will win. It’s just how"

Taehyun finally said after finishing his moment of laughter. He was a bit too self-confident for Seungyoon’s taste, the competition was stiff and there were bigger universities up against them with a lot more students to choose from. Their school had won the last three years and so the pressure was on.

Seungyoon grabbed a chair from behind the desk and pulled out some paper from his bag.

"Let’s brainstorm, see what we can come up with. We got a month to do this so we can take a day or two to consider our options"

He tried to muster up an honest smile and Taehyun smiled back through narrow eyes. That face of his irked him. Was he mocking him now? Or was he actually happy? He couldn’t read Taehyun at all and it irked him more than anything.

"Let’s look at our strengths first"

Taehyun said calmly while playing with the blank piece of paper Seungyoon just had handed him.

"I paint, you?"

He asked in a casual voice, but Seungyoon was already angry. Was he pretending not to know? Or did he honestly not know? Puffing his cheeks he scribbled the day and date at the top of his paper having decided to ignore this comment.

"You write right? No wait, dance?"

This wasn’t funny at all. Leaning forward in his seat he stared right into Taehyuns face which was emitting nothing but amusement on his behalf.

"I study music, I play the guitar and I compose music. I create music, I’ll become a music producer when I finish here"

Taehyun wobbled his pen between his thumb and index finger while smiling so widely Seungyoon could see his teeth.

"Right, right. This should be fun"

He replied while taking up a notebook of his own. Seungyoon leaned back in his chair. What was it about this guy that pushed all the wrong buttons in him? He usually managed to stay completely calm no matter who or what situation.

"I blame it on the eyebrows"

Seungyoon mumbled to himself while drawing a big circle in the middle of his paper.

"What was that?"

Taehyun questioned not looking up from his paper either.

"Hm?"

Seungyoon replied absentmindedly, he had already begun questioning what could be wrong with him today. He decided in that moment that this collaboration needed to be over as quickly as possible and it needed to go as smoothly as possible. He had a favorite strategy for these kinds of situation. To kill them with kindness. That way things would go his way yet there was no way to prove that he was manipulating the situation to avoid unnecessary efforts or arguments. With the way Taehyun was acting couldn’t he help but to wonder if he had his own strategy for these kinds of situations.

Taehyun walked out of the auditorium leaving Seungyoon behind. He kept a steady pace until he turned the corner before clinging to one of the many pillars that line the huge entrance hall. So much for maybe thinking he was a little attractive! He was so much more; funny, smart, such a y voice.. He sighed trying not to be dramatic but it was hard! He had honestly nurtured a small crush on the guy ever since seeing him perform at a university talent display last autumn. Which meant almost a year already.

Pulling himself together he looked around to see if anyone had seen him. Nope, not a soul. That was good, it weren’t really like him to walk around hugging inanimate objects. Particularly not buildings! That was for the over enthusiastic guys over at the architecture department.

Stepping out of the huge entrance hall he found that the sun had already gone down passed the city buildings. Keeping up his facade had been harder than he had expected. The longer time they had spent together the more obvious did it become that he indeed was infatuated with this person, artist, musician, round faced, skinny, cute.. He was so many things.

Taehyun was more than a little excited to get to know Seungyoon and as he walked down the street to the subway couldn’t he help but to strike a somewhat lame pose while exclaiming silently in his mind

Kang Seungyoon! You will be mine!

Seungyoon looked at his watch, Taehyun was late to their second meeting and they had a lot to work on that afternoon. Making space in his schedule was hard enough, making time for waiting was not an option.

Deciding to use the time until Taehyun got there to do something constructive he took out his guitar. He had a presentation coming up over the weekend and there was this last part that didn’t sound quite right.

Plucking away on his guitar the minutes passed quickly and he seemed to have figured out the issue. Scribbling away on his music sheet he smiled to himself. Finally was it all in place, now he just had to rehearse. He put down the paper and began playing the song from the start. He had reached the end of the second play through when he heard Taehyun enter the room.

"A private concert, nice"

Taehyun said and dragged a chair closer. By the time he had sat down was the song over.

"That one was nice, written by you?"

Seungyoon could see through Taehyuns flattery from far away. He didn’t wish to get scolded for being late and so..

"I’m sorry for being late, I was helping out over at the art department.. Uh one of the professors got a half carved wood sculpture over himself and probably broke his leg" 

His story sounded a bit too strange to be true, but then again he heard about the marble statue that fell over a month ago and broke the studio floor.

"Will he be okay?"

Seungyoon asked, being a natural worrier he couldn’t help but to think that old people and broken limbs were never a good thing.

"We got him into the ambulance and saw him of, I do hope so. He is a great teacher"

Hearing Taehyun talk fondly of someone was surprisingly nice and it conflicted slightly with Seungyoon's view on him. Deciding to let the fact that Taehyun was late slip this time he sat down his guitar.

"Let’s get to work shall we? Mixed media right? We can do that"

Taehyun took of his suit jacket and loosened his tie. Seungyoon couldn’t understand why he wore such a thing to school to begin with. He worked with paint after all. He must have ruined a lot of suits over the past years.

"I was thinking we could decide on a common theme first, I could incorporate some of the lyrics in my art"

They went from there, planning each step carefully. Even though Seungyoon had planned on playing nice just to save time didn’t he need to. When Taehyun focused on the task ahead was he dead serious yet very creative. He would suggest complicated metaphors expressed in such simplicity even a person with no interest in art would grasp the concept.

After working together for hours was Seungyoon the one who had to leave. He explained honestly that he taught music to kids at a culture center not far from there and had to run to make it. Taehyun told him he would stay behind and work on a few more ideas before going home.

He appreciated that, the more they decided on beforehand the easier would the creating process be. In theory at least, there really was no telling if it would work out like that.

Hurrying over to the door he gave Taehyun a small wave good bye before leaving. Jogging down the hall he realized that there had been a lot less quarreling and rude comments between them that day. It was a nice change and he found himself hoping it would stay that way. That way they could finish quickly and he could go back to focusing on his own projects.

Taehyun watched Seungyoon wave and head out the door. He had waved, he found that to be rather nice. A nice gesture was a nice start. So nice. He sighed. Not sure if he had been more like himself or less he looked at his notes. Why hadn’t he kept up his act from last time? The answer was too clear to him. He wanted Seungyoon to like him and to get to know the real him. It made him a lot more insecure however. The feeling of having a lot more to lose made him slightly anxious. If Seungyoon rejected his usual act would it be hard, but he wouldn’t actually be rejecting him.

Unable to focus on his notes he stared back at where he had last seen Seungyoon. He had smiled a few earnest smiles today and the song he had been playing when he got there. Trying to think back he thought he could recall some of the melody.Getting to his feet he brought out one of his rolls of sketch paper and taped it to the blackboard. He then proceeded to draft out one of his ideas for their concept. He weren’t sure how good Seungyoon was at visualizing concepts for illustrations so he made them more detailed than he would if it was only for his own use.

Having spent a good few hours preparing for their next meeting he left school in a good mood. It had begun raining after Seungyoon had left, but Taehyun had been smart enough to bring an umbrella with him.

Humming as he walked through the rain he realized that he was unconsciously singing on Seungyoon’s song again.

Seungyoon was taking his time walking towards their usual empty auditorium. He half expected Taehyun to be late again so he couldn’t be bothered with arriving early.

When he walked in to the room 10 minutes later with his vanilla latte in hand was he amazed by what met him. Huge pictures in charcoal, watercolors and acrylics had been neatly put up all over the blackboard.

As he walked down the stairs had he almost fell as his feet missed a step from not paying attention to where he was placing them. He absentmindedly put down his coffee on the lecturer’s desk before walking over to the blackboard to study the pictures up close.

"These are really great"

He said pointing to one of the bigger ones in watercolors.

"I’m glad you like them"

Taehyun replied. His voice went up a notch too high and Seungyoon turned to check if he was up to something fishy. He weren’t wrong. Taehyun was sipping on his coffee with a smug expression on his face.

"Thanks for the coffee"

He said innocently and took another sip of the coffee. That sneaky cat, stealing what was his when he weren’t looking. Suddenly feeling annoyed he walked over and snatched his coffee out of Taehyun’s hands. He weren’t quite sure what reaction he was expecting, but Taehyuns was definitely not the one.

An even wider smile spread across his face as Seungyoon took a sip of his coffee. Had he put something in it? He sniffed at it for a second before putting it to his lips. It smelled even sweeter for some reason, perfume? He gave the coffee another taste. It didn’t seem any different.

Shifting his focus from his beverage and over to Taehuyn was there only one thing that met him: That mocking look. Eyebrows raised and eyes closed with a wide smile. Taehyun looked like one of those very pleased smiley faced cats that they sold in every tourist shop around Asia.

Seungyoon was half tempted to imitate that paw pose they did when he snapped out of it. What was it about Taehyun that made his mind wander on its own like this? Another glance and his stomach made a jolt.

"Here, you can have it"

He said and handed Taehyun the coffee back. He weren’t sure what had gotten to his stomach, but it was acting up and if it was the coffee then they both could suffer from it as they worked. It was only fair right?

Taehyun looked fondly at his newly inherited vanilla latte. It weren’t one of his favorites, he preferred his coffee black. What he liked about it was that it had touched both of their lips. The second was that it was a gift. How he had managed to obtain it didn’t really matter. Sipping on his coffee he watched as Seungyoon talked his way through all his sketches. In the end had he returned to the first one he had pointed out. It was a large one with watercolors, not really his favorite of the bunch but he could make it work.

"Do you think a lot of the submissions will have this combination of works?"

Seungyoon asked after having presented what he had been working on. Taehyun like all the songs, but two of them really stood out.

"I have no idea, but I don’t think there has been a lot of it in the previous years at least"

They stared at each other emotionless for a moment before they both smiled. He really did think they had a fair chance. Usually would he think of winning as something nice to add to his long list of merits. Now had his focused shifted drastically. He wanted them to win so that they had something unique and incredible shared together. Achieve in unity that could keep them together.

"What’s with the face?"

Seungyoon asked as neither had said anything and their moment of triumph had passed.

"I just really think we can win this"

Taehyun replied honestly. Seungyoon puffed his cheeks and stared up at the art works again.

"At least we gave it some effort!"

Deciding to make the installation as big as possible they agreed to work on the construction together. He would be doing the artwork, but as it required a rather special framework did he really appreciate Seungyoon volunteering to help out.

It was late by the time he made it home they had finished all the planning and done all the final selections. The next time they were to meet would be in one of the studios at the side of campus. Seungyoon had actually made a joke saying how he hoped he would be knocked out by half carved statues when he got there.

"He is really funny you know"

Taehyun told his cat while grabbing something to drink from the fridge. His cat jumped up on the kitchen counter and gave him a grumpy stare. She didn’t like it much when he was away all day. Picking up the cat with one arm he walked over to his balcony to enjoy his drink in the last rays of sunlight. It had already gone down behind the city buildings now and there was a hint of autumn chill in the air.

"I’m sorry I’ve been away so much lately, but I working on this new project you see"

His cat stared up at him lazily and he bopped her nose with his drink. She laid still on his lap even so as she was used to him having fun at the cost of her comfort.

"I think it’s time I come up with a plan"

What kind of plan that was didn’t he get to share with the cat as she bounced of his lap to hunt a fly passing by. Deciding to follow her example to go inside he got up from his seat and headed for the bathroom. He had initially decided to take a quick shower, but there was nothing like a nice bath when plotting on how to seduce innocent souls.

"Innocent souls"

He huffed as he climbed into the tub, was Seungyoon really that innocent? The more he thought about it the more he wanted to know. Picking up his book from the stool under the sink he began reading. The Great Gatsby really had its charms, it was his second read through the book and he enjoyed it even more this time around.

Half an hour later and he was staring at his book sink to the bottom of the tub like Jay Gatsby sank to the bottom of the pool after being shot. It was his phone that had startled him and while reaching for it had he also managed to knock one of his scented candles into the tub.

The caller had been his mother, but he had been too annoyed to call her back. What could she possibly want at this hour? He sighed and got out of the tub. It had ended up making him feel chilly opposed to warm as he had hoped. Wrapping himself in a fluffy towel he went to find his pajamas. An hour later and he was in the middle of watching the 2013 version of The Great Gatsby. He didn’t get to Jay’s death scene this time before falling asleep.

He woke the next morning with a stuffy nose and a headache worse than the usual hangover induced ones he had every other Sunday. He didn’t let that stop him however and he continued with his day as close to normal as he could.

Two days later and he had to give in. His fever was raging along with his mother on the phone telling him to stay in bed until he got better. He had kept in bed all of that day, but he didn’t intend on it the next. There was no way he was missing out on his next meeting with Seungyoon.

Morning came and he had no slept a second. The fever had kept him awake and he had to realize there was no way he would make it to school that day. Sulking he wrapped himself in his duvet and headed to the kitchen to make himself another cup of tea.

Pondering how best to contact Seungyoon he took a sip of his tea. He could hunt him down on social media, but he didn’t want to come off as creepy. After considering his options had he decided to message his professor. He was the one who had convinced him to contribute for the school in the competition, he should have Seungyoon’s contact information. He wouldn’t mind having Seungyoon’s number either, that way would something good come from all this.

A couple of hours later and he was staring at a phone number on the screen. He decided to send a text message just in case Seungyoon was one of those weirdos that didn’t pick up and blocked unfamiliar numbers.

The message he had sent had been a simple one. Explaining that he was sick and couldn’t make it to their planned meeting. Over an hour had passed since he had sent the message until he got his reply. Having waited on the sofa he picked up the phone from the floor to have a look.

"Hurry up and get well, we got a lot of work to do"

He stared at the message. It weren’t particularly hearty, but it was something.

"Thank you, I will"

Dropping the phone back down on the floor he smiled. He had his number now. How to exert self-control he wondered. He already wanted to send a message to ask if Seungyoon would be working on his own. Luckily enough had he gone back to sleep before he got so far as to send the message.

He woke to the violent vibrations of his phone against the hardwood floor. Jolting up in an upright position he looked around in confusion. His headache hit him like a flying frying pan and he groaned in pain before lowering his head back down on the couch.

Waiting for the pain to subside he suddenly remembered his phone. Looking at the caller id through squinting eyes he almost lost the phone into his face when he saw it. Seungyoon had been the one to call. What could it be for?

A message popped up on the screen before he got around to sending a reply. All it said was

"Where do you live?"

Where do I live? What was that supposed to mean? He lived here, in this building. Wait a second? He rubbed his eyes and tried to sit up a little. He must be stopping by, but why? He sent his address without any comment and rolled of the couch. His hair was all pointing in one direction and he had dried drool on his cheek.

Stuffing his head in the shower, he complained loudly over his still painful headache. Was Seungyoon brining him work to do at home? It was definitely something he would do. He got out of his lousy pajamas and put on a pair of sweatpants and a loose navy colored t-shirt. He had just returned to the living room when the doorbell rang loudly.

While pushing the button to open the entrance door to the building had he wondered what would be the best greeting. Hearing the sound of the elevator outside he straightened up a little. Giving a cough check that his voice still was intact he opened the door. Having opened the door before Seungyoon even could ring the bell he caught him in a surprised pose, hand extended towards the door.

"Oh"

He said startled. Taehyun waved and smiled hoping he didn’t look to scruffy considering his current condition.

"I brought food and this"

Seungyoon picked something out of the plastic bag and held it out towards him. He was holding a tiny notebook in his hand.

"I think we can make it spin"

Seungyoon looked really excited about that and Taehyun didn’t catch on to what he was talking about right away. Looking at one of the first pages of the notebook he realized however.

"Ah that’s great! But how?"

Seungyoon puffed his chest a little before replying, obviously pleased with himself.

"I got a friend who study engineering. I’m going there now"

Taehyun studied the notebook again. It could work, but it would make the challenge even bigger. Time was limited, they only had two more weeks. He sighed annoyed at himself for getting sick at a time like this.

"I’m sorry and thank you"

He said while picking up the bag of food Seungyoon had placed in the door entrance moments before.

"Don’t mention it, I’ll do what I can until you come back"

Sniffing at the bag of food a little distracted he smiled. Seungyoon smiled too. Bringing him food like this. It was nice of him. Really nice. 

"I better get going, rest and get well soon ok?"

He watched Seungyoon walk down the hall towards the elevator. His thin frame seemed wider in that trench coat of his. He had his hat in one hand and propped it on his head as he walked into the elevator. He stuck out a hand from the elevator for one last wave and Taehyun waved back even though he knew Seungyoon couldn’t see it.

It took him the whole week to recover. When he finally arrived to their next planed meet up weren’t he quite sure what to expect. They had borrowed the studio furthest away from campus. Seungyoon had been forced to figuring out everything on his own as he had been sick and unable to show him around.

"Isn’t it great?"

Seungyoon asked proudly? Taehyun was inspecting the framework carefully.

"What is this for?"

He asked pointing to a small box in the structure. Seungyoon walked up beside him and pushed a button on the side. Music started playing right away.

"You finished the song?"

Taehyun asked in amazement. Seungyoon gave him two thumbs up and a wonky smile that emitted pride in his work more than anything. It was perfect really. Music was one of his greatest inspirations. Now he could work on the art piece while listening to the song they would be using.

With one week left until the deadline did he have no time to lose. Seungyoon was more or less done with his part, but he help putting up the huge canvas. Taehyun expected him to leave, but he said he wouldn’t mind staying and working on other school projects while he worked.

He usually preferred working on his art alone, but he didn’t mind making an exception for Seungyoon.

They spent the entire afternoon and evening like that. Him painting and Seungyoon scribbling away on his notes. Seungyoon had left and returned with bagels and coffee at one point. He got a vanilla latte just like the one he had stolen before, but he didn’t bother to tell him that he really preferred his coffee black. When evening arrived was his head spinning and he had a feeling that his fever had returned as well. He didn’t care however, he was almost done and he felt certain they would make it for the deadline.

Seungyoon walked up beside him as he inspected the almost finished art piece from far away.

"It suits the song really well, it gives you the same kind of feeling doesn’t it?"

Seungyoon rested a hand on his shoulder as he said it. He felt himself stiffen up suddenly a little nervous. If anything had they become closer over the course of this month they had spent together.

"All our planning paid off"

He said working hard to keep his voice steady. Turning towards Seungyoon he swallowed hard. It weren’t like him to be nervous at all. What happened to his plan of seducing Seungyoon’s innocent soul?

They stared at each other. He knew what he wanted to say, but the time didn’t seem quite right. Just like that had the moment passed and Seungyoon took a step back.

"Can you finish this sometime tomorrow?"

He asked pointing to the canvas. Taehyun didn’t have any doubts about that and so he copied Seungyoon’s somewhat lame thumbs up move from earlier.

"Good, I got work tomorrow but send me a message and I’ll stop by afterwards and help you put it up on the frame when you are done?" 

Seungyoon walked out of the studio minutes later. Taehyun had to change out of that painter’s shirt of his. Having watched him paint all afternoon even though he was obviously feverish. He admired his passion. He didn’t have a hard time admitting that.

They had that common, their dedication to the arts. Maybe the two of them teaming up for this project weren’t such a bad thing after all. Increasing his pace down the hall he did his best to suppress the next thought that popped up in his mind.

He is quite a piece of art himself

He had thought for a split second. Looking over his shoulder as an immediate response to his embarrassment he saw no one. Spewing cheesy lines weren’t unfamiliar to him as he wrote songs about all kinds of emotions. This however deserved the cheesiness award.

Stepping out into the cool summer evening he sighed in relief. He needed to calm down and get whatever had gotten into him out of his system. Pulling out his headphones from his bag he attached them to his phone. Pressing play did his playlist of favorite movie scores and soundtracks begin playing. Shuffling to the next song he shuffled down the road towards the bus stop.

"I aint got time for you baby.." he hummed along as he leaned out to scout down the road after his bus. Taking out his phone the album art from the soundtrack of The Great Gatsby shone up at him. "A little party never killed nobody" he sang as the chorus went over and over. It had been a while since he saw a movie with a historic feel to it. Maybe he should re-watch one of his favorites this weekend?

Taehyun checked his watch, he weren’t late this time but he sure wasn’t early either. Rushing through the doors to the studio he was surprised to find it empty. It was the afternoon before the competition and they were going to move their finished art installation to the location.

He thought he could hear footsteps behind him and turned to face them. Seungyoon came walking in carrying a huge pile of fabric. It was a rather comical display and Taehyun found himself sniggering amused at the sight.

"Are you going to help me or not?"

Seungyoon sounded obviously annoyed from behind the heap and Taehyun walked over to him in a few quick strides.

They covered up the finished piece and the professor got there minutes after they were done. They helped him load it onto the truck and got in at the front afterwards.

"So do you have faith you will win this for us?"

He asked as they pulled out on the main road outside the university. They exchanged a quick glance before saying in unison

"Definitely"

Arriving at the venue they found their assigned spot and spent a good half an hour making sure everything was as planned. The professor had left to fill out the papers for the school and so they headed out on their own after finishing setting up.

"Best of luck to us tomorrow"

Taehyun said as they stood outside the huge show hall. Seungyoon agreed silently. It was time for them to leave, but Taehyun felt like there was something unsaid between them now more than ever.

"Let’s go out to celebrate tomorrow if we win"

He said after spending a few second building up his courage.

"Sure"

Seungyoon replied without looking back at him. They had to win now. If not might this have been the last day they spent together. There would be no reason for meting up once the competition was over. Knowing this Taehyun almost felt a little sick, not flu sick like before, but heartbroken.

He should have given it more effort. Conveying his feelings and all that. Even if it was something he was horribly bad at.

Walking each to their own direction he stopped at the corner of the street to have one last look. Seungyoon kept walking without looking back. He couldn’t help but to wonder if this was it? Weren't they at least friends after working this together?

The next day and it was competition time. Walking amidst all the different contestants he couldn’t help but to feel a tinge of worry. He meet up with Seungyoon by their installation and took his seat next to him waiting for the judges to get there.

When it was finally their turn to be judged had time gone by quickly. They had presented their work and the judges seemed impressed to him at least.  Seungyoon’s face expressed something else however and when they left had he leaned up close and whispered

"They didn’t get it did they"

He weren’t quite sure himself, they had seemed convinced, but he might be wrong.

Another couple of hours passed and then it was time for the winners to be announced before the dinner party afterwards. He had completely forgotten about that part. Even if they won would they have to go to that to represent their school.

Gathering around the announcement podium they waited expectantly. Nerves on edge his vision kept blurring and he was worried. They had to win, he wanted that reason for them to meet again more than anything. Swaying a little on the spot he felt Seungyoon grip his arm to stop him from staggering and pushing someone in the crowd.

He didn’t let go and when the announcer started speaking could he feel how Seungyoon’s grip only got tighter. They started with announcing third place. It weren’t them, then second. The crowd went silent waiting for the announcement. Their school got called, they had won second place.

They didn’t win? He felt his stomach sink. What did this mean for them? Seungyoon still had a firm grip on his arm. Their professor came and patted him on the shoulder.

"Second place, it’s not first! Ah but still! Well done boys! I’ll drive the submission back to the school for you"

He wanted to shrug the professors arm of him "not first!?!" he repeated in his mind. Talk about rubbing it in. They joined the dinner party afterwards as expected of them. It didn’t finish until late and when they were about to leave had they run into the professor again.

"Really boys, you did a great job. I can’t see how that dance prodigy was better, but hey I’m sure you had fun working together"

They mumbled in agreement, but neither looked at the other.

"I’ll be driving your submission back to the school now. Do you want to catch a ride?"

Taehyun agreed as the school was a lot closer to his home than the competition location. He was happy to hear Seungyoon agree as well.

Arriving back at school they helped unloading the piece from the truck and moving it back into the studio. The professor had suggested they displayed it in the entrance hall in the morning, because after all: second weren’t so bad.

The professor left and they both stood there in the badly lit studio staring at the other.

"Let’s have one last look at it before they move it tomorrow"

Seungyoon suggested and Taehyun agreed. He went over and pulled of the sheet of fabric covering it.

From the outside didn’t it look like much. It was a tiny circular shape with a small opening on one side like an entrance to a tent. He walked in and Seungyoon followed. He sat down on the floor in the tiny space while Seungyoon pushed the button on the box in the roof. He then sat down as the song started playing. The canvas that covered the circular room started moving slowly as the song played. He though it was pretty neat to see his artwork move like this.

"Maybe this is what it feels like to be in a space station?"

Seungyoon mused as the song went on and the main piece of the canvas reached them. A huge painted galaxy in splendid colors spread out before them.

"The watercolors really makes it feel fluid and adds to the movement of it"

Taehyun commented, having trusted Seungyoon’s decision to go with a watercolor piece even though it weren’t his favorite had been a good decision.

"It was my favorite out of all of them"

He turned towards Seungyoon slightly as he said that and their shoulders brushed lightly.

"I’m glad I trusted your decision"

He admitted and Seungyoon shifted ever so slightly as well. They were both leaning on their hand for support and the tips of Seungyoon’s fingers were now lightly resting on top of his. 

Wanting to make a move he peeked over at Seungyoon who was still watching the moving artwork. He had only just begun leaning in closer when the song stopped.

Seungyoon got to his feet first and walked out right away. Taehyun sat there slightly dumbfound over having missed out on another opportunity. Maybe it just wasn’t meant to be. Still pondering that he decided that he should at least say something to establish their friendship. It wasn’t as if he was about to give up anyway.

"Are you stuck in there?"

Seungyoon asked and he got to his feet and stepped out. Seungyoon had already begun walking towards the exit door. Hurrying to catch up he almost bumped into him when he stopped at the door. He turned slightly, still with his hand on the door knob saying

"I know this is a little sudden, but.."

More didn’t he get to say. Taehyun had stopped inches away from him when he had suddenly stopped at the door. He weren’t about to let another opportunity pass.

With one hand had he pushed Seungyoon up against the door, the other removing his hand from the doorknob. He didn’t meet Seungyoon’s eyes as he was scared to lose his resolve and so he went for it with all he had.

The kiss he had planned in his mind had been aggressive, dominating and a communication of intense feelings. The real thing was nothing like it however.

Having almost backed out the first few second of the kiss had it just been their lips lightly brushing. He had then pulled away for just a moment. He weren’t sure exactly why he had done it, maybe to give Seungyoon a chance to reject him. No such thing happened however.

The now familiar smell of his perfume, his warm breath and the unmoving posture was enough to make Taehyun decide to go for a proper kiss this time. Closing the distance completely he started with a peck-like kiss to test the waters. He then had intended to keep on like that, but it seemed Seungyoon lost patience with him. He leaned in on his own accord taking control of the kiss while putting one arm around his neck to stop him from pulling away.

Stopping only to catch their breath they kept on kissing like that until the sun had gone down completely and the room was filled with darkness. The only light was the green lantern above their heads marking the emergency exit. Bathing them in a soft green light as the bulb needed replacement.

As he finally pulled away was his head spinning, but it was nothing like before when his fever was the cause. The way things had worked out, maybe there was hope for them after all. He couldn’t shake the feeling that this was a secret one time thing between them however. That doubt didn't last long as he felt Seungyoon’s hand find his in the week green light, fingers intertwining slowly. 

"I think we have good reason to go out for that dinner even if we didn’t win"

Seungyoon said matter-of-factly and Taehyun laughed a little. He realized in that moment that he got owned. Nothing of this was thanks to him. Seungyoon had made all the moves, he was the not so innocent soul that got seduced this time and he loved it.

"How about tomorrow?"

He suggested while opening the door for them.

"Tomorrow at eight"

Seungyoon said keeping his smug way of speaking.

"Seven"

He replied just as smugly, he wanted more time and he couldn’t have Seungyoon deciding everything around here this early on.

"Eight it is then"

Seungyoon said and let go of his hand. He took a few steps down the hall before turning to face him.

"I’ll text you the address of the restaurant tomorrow"

Taehyun gave in, he didn’t really care. He had a date tomorrow and he was delighted.

Absolutely delighted.

Authors note: A kangnam story! It's been a while haven't it? Did I lose my touch? Did I ever have it? This was the second request I took on to fill my time while I'm stuck on the sofa sick. I think it turned out okay, did you like it? I'd love to hear your opnion on it :) 

Thanks a lot for reading and I hope to see you back here soon!