for lovers who hesitate | taejun

01| drunk

It's not a new tale to hear. A person falling in love with their best friend is such an overused trope that it's affecting reality. Having a best friend of his own, Taehyun can't count the instances people assume they're both dating or both harboring romantic feelings for each other. He knew well how books are different from the real world and that it's damn possible for best friends to remain as best friends with the only love present was platonic.

"Yeonjun and I don't like each other like that! That would never happen," Taehyun remembered saying once when his mom hopped into the 'best-friends-to-lovers' fantasy that he noticed almost everyone has, and for some reason he can't seem to get that off his mind.

Just like now.

It kept ringing in his ear as he played with the metal straw on his drink. Taehyun stares outside, letting his mind fully engulf him, until his company fakes a cough to get his attention.

"Oh, sorry, Huening Kai. I was just thinking about something."

"I figured," Kai said with a smile. "Mind telling me? You seem like you were thinking about something deep. I'm not really great at comforting, but I'll see if I can help."

"Will you?" Taehyun raised his left eyebrow to tease. He's been working on a work project with Kai for a few days now and he never really thought that the co-worker was the type to say something like that.

"It depends. I-I don't know what the problem is," Kai waits for an answer, but when Taehyun just smiled and shook his head, he got the message that he didn't want to talk about it. "Okay.. I bought food. Want some? Oh, wait. It will ruin our papers. Let's finish this first then let's eat."

"Sounds like a plan," Taehyun said, transferring his eyes on his own work, but his mind kept traveling somewhere else. Before he knew it, five minutes had already passed, and he's just stuck staring at the sentences meant for him to read. There's no way Taehyun's ever getting anything done when he's this distracted.

"Huening Kai," He called.

"Hm?"

"Wanna take a break and drink?"

-

Kang Taehyun met Choi Yeonjun in a high school first year orientation seminar. Both of them share the same color group and were partnered up for a performance presentation. Taehyun, knowing how to play the piano well, ended up doing that while Yeonjun did a graceful freestyle dance to match his graceful playing.

There was no doubt that it was an instant click and they became close friends.

They both did end up having their separate circle of friends, but there was always a Taehyun in every single day in Yeonjun's life and the same as Yeonjun in every single day in his. Taehyun was there when Yeonjun lost in his first dance competition and when he won in his third, Yeonjun was there when Taehyun needed someone to taste test his baking (that he loves doing, but never studied about it) and when he perfected the recipe he's been working on for weeks, and they were both there whenever the other is in need-always will be. If anything, they've both been each other's comfort the day Taehyun found out Yeonjun can dance as beautifully as his piano playing.

He was his best friend. They both made it official one day when they were given a questionnaire by a bunch of seniors. "Best friend? I don't have one." "I don't have one either." "I'll just put you." "Okay."

Their closeness was a constant to everybody. They would walk to school together after finding out they both live in the same street and would walk home the same way as well. Taehyun's friends and Yeonjun's have grown used to this; they would call them a buy-one-take-one promo because when one is not with them, they'll know that they're with each other. Despite all that, they never really got teased for being best friends. At least not yet.