like never before | beomkai

08 | steps

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At a bus stop, Kai found himself waiting for the raindrops to fall on his palm. He didn't have an umbrella with him when he left to take pictures for his college applications, and he didn't even notice the growing gray color of the sky when he stepped out of his home.

Seoul oddly looks pretty when it rains. There's little to no fine mist when it does, and somehow, it's a lot easier to look at the gray sky this way. The park beside the bus stop didn't seem any less pretty, too. The grass was still green and the playground painted with bright colors stayed eye-catching.

But perhaps there was something else that caught Kai's eyes when he was locked in a daze upon spotting a familiar face walking towards him with a faint smile on his lips.

"Hey. Are you on your way home?" It was Beomgyu.

"Uh, yeah. Just waiting for my bus. I took pictures for my applications today so that's why.." Kai's voice slowly grew more quiet once he realized how Beomgyu didn't ask about the reason why he went out anyway.

Anticipation was plastered all over Beomgyu's face. For once, he actually seemed like he's listening to what Kai was saying. It was foreign, as Kai remembers how much Beomgyu used to ignore him before, but things must really be different now. Just like what Yeonjun said; they're friends.

"Did the pictures get wet?"

"No. It's wrapped in plastic, so I hope not."

"Well, your hair is. That's going to make you sick," If Kai wasn't giving Beomgyu his full attention, he would have missed the small pout that grew on the other's lips as he said that.

"It'll teach me a lesson to check the weather before going out next time if I do."

Beomgyu averts his gaze on what Kai was wearing. It didn't faze Kai at first, but the longer it got the more he grew self-conscious. And Beomgyu showed no sign of looking away anytime soon. "You're a bit dumb."

That threw Kai off. "Huh?" Kai prodded for what that meant.

It remained rhetoric when Beomgyu said nothing as he walked closer with his gentle hands brushing lightly against the cold skin of Kai's neck. He tugged something from the back of the younger one's head and pulled it up to cover Kai's dampen hair.

It was a hood. Kai completely forgot he was wearing a hoodie above his formal shirt.

"Oh," Kai's cheeks turned red, embarrassment mixing in with the proximity between him and Beomgyu.

"You're still a kid who needs being taken care of," Beomgyu mumbled. Whether it was to himself or to Kai, it was vague. But he backed away when the bus stopped in front of them. "My bus is here."

"Mine, too," It was surprising that Kai managed to say that without stuttering, but that didn't matter when Beomgyu was already too far away from earshot.

Kai climbed in the bus, quickly tapping his card and finding comfort in a seat closer to the exit. He didn't know where Beomgyu sat, nor did he want to even try looking. But his phone vibrated in his pocket as soon as the bus started to move.

choi.beomgyu sent you a message

Kai didn't hesitate to click the notification, knowing how rude it will be to ignore it.

choi.beomgyu: dummy, why are you sitting there?

It made Kai finally look around and he saw Beomgyu sitting at the very back, waving his hand to catch his attention. God, this boy is unaware of how cute he looks doing that.