Paint Me | Kang Taehyun

11. SUNSET

The group decided to visit the beach after lunch. The boys enjoyed drowning each other in water playfully while the girls sat at the shore watching them with joy.

"Okay now that it's just us, I mean girls so spill the tea Hayun." Bo Young eagerly said pointing to Hayun. "What do you mean? There's nothing-" Sohee cut her in between saying "Come on, it's visible Hayun. We've been through this so don't try to fool us."

"Okay tell us what do you think about Taehyun?" Yeonhwa asked. Hayun took a moment to think and began "Well, when we first met, I found him handsome, can't deny that. In the beginning, I thought of him as a cold, arrogant, and bossy person but now that I've begun to know him better, he's sweet and caring. He's not so cold and he looks really cute when he smiles and his chocolate brown eyes are so captivating that-" she paused as she realized how she kept on talking about him and the way she described him. The other four girls squealed in excitement wanting her to continue.

The sound caught attention of the boys so they decided to take a break and went to the girls. "I don't think we need to say anything further." Heejin said hitting Hayun's shoulder playfully. "You girls were squealing like seals." Beomgyu chuckled trying to imitate their sound. "Were you fangirling over your K-pop idol crush?" Yeonjun asked taking a seat beside his girlfriend. "Why would I need a K-pop idol when I have a whole Choi Yeonjun?" Yeonhwa boldly said and winked at the said boy. The rest of the girls squealed at Yeonhwa's statement while the other boys gagged.

"I thought Yeonjun was the biggest flirt but looks like he has a competition now." Hayun pointed out as she stuck out her tongue at Yeonjun to tease him. The soon-to-be-married couple looked at each other shyly.

"I'm hungry, let's eat something" Beomgyu said clinging to Bo Young's arm. "Go and change your clothes first, you all are soaked." she said to the boys. "Can we come back to watch the sunset?" Hayun asked like a child wanting to visit an amusement park and everyone agreed. "Cute" Taehyun mumbled.

The group of ten went to a nearby cafe. It wasn't huge but it was cozy. Hayun excused herself to use the restroom. There was only one toilet so she had to wait for a few minutes for her turn to arrive.

After finishing her business she was about to walk towards their table but her eyes landed on a boy in front of her and their eyes met. Hayun felt like someone stabbed a dagger in an old wound. She recognized him but the boy wasn't sure if he knew the girl.

At the table their food arrived but Hayun still didn't return. "I'll go and check up on her." Heejin said making her way towards the restroom. "Hayun? Let's go, everyone's waiting." she said eyeing the girl. Hayun quickly broke the eye contact and followed Heejin to the table. "Hayun? Lee Hayun?" The boy muttered.

While eating, Taehyun noticed that Hayun was quiet and looked uncomfortable so he decided that he would talk to her later when they return home.

After paying the bill they all made their way out of the cafe with Hayun behind everyone. As soon as they were out someone grabbed her wrist from behind making her turn back to look at the person. "Is that really you Lee Hayun? The tomboy of our class? Woah you've completely changed. You look more like a girl now. Are you still single?" The boy she met near the restroom attacked her with questions.

Taehyun noticed that Hayun wasn't with them so he turned back to see a strange boy holding her wrist. "Leave me Suho, there's nothing to talk about between us." she nervously said. "No but let me tell you, you look pretty now, tell me are you still single?" Suho asked in amazement avoiding how uncomfortable she was. "Let me go Suho!" the girl tried to get out of his grip but someone pushed Suho which made his grip lose. "Didn't you her when she told you to leave her hand?" Taehyun fired glaring at Suho. His voice sounded colder and harsher than what Hayun would have ever imagined. "And who are you to interfere?" Suho questioned. "Her boyfriend, got any problem?" Taehyun replied boldly as if what he said wasn't a whole lie. "I never thought that you would ever be able to find a boyfriend, good for you." Suho replied and left like nothing happened.

"Let's go." Taehyun said as he held Hayun's hand and made their way to the rest of the group.

They all were back at the beach. The sun was about to set. Hayun was mesmerized by the warm colors of the sun and its rays between the golden-grey clouds and blue sky while Taehyun's eyes were set on the girl beside him appreciating her facial features. To her, sunsets were like happiness. You cannot touch it but can feel it. "It's so beautiful!" Hayun said which made him look at the sky and nod in agreement "Yes, really beautiful!"

"Let's go-" Hayun was about to say something but paused as she saw eight pairs of eyes on her and Taehyun while smiling weirdly. "What's wrong?" Taehyun asked them. "You both are just dumb or too stupid." Yeonjun said eyeing the pair of hands intertwined together. The two realized that they were still holding hands ever since they left the cafe after the encounter with Suho.

Taehyun and Hayun quickly pulled their hands apart but they soon missed the warmth of each other. They also thought that Yeonjun called them dumb or stupid for not noticing this but what he meant was that the two were ignorant about their feelings for each other.

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