Time | Taegyu ✔️

Chapter Thirty Eight

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G o o d b y e

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28/10/2022

Autumn was the time of hugs, of evenings with warm drinks and warmer smiles. Beautiful orange and yellow paved the roads in the city park, where families, friends and lovers frequented to spend some quality time together. Needless to say, Taehyun and Beomgyu were there as well. Stepping onto the crunchy dry amber leaves, a small smile formed on Beomgyu's lips. Taehyun quietly watched his lover while strolling right beside him, finding his childlike behaviour endearing. A comfortable silence took over the couple as they walked down the coloured pathway with their hands joined. No words were needed for both of them to show how much they loved each other. Small actions like the squeezing of the hand, pulling the other closer to avoid collisions with strangers, or the swinging of hands were more than enough for them to communicate and convey their feelings towards each other.

Beomgyu used to hate autumn. The main reason being that it was the peak season for hospitals due to school and work holidays when accidents were more prone and because of that, his parents were always busy, sparing less to no time for their young son. Beomgyu was always cooped up in his little secret playroom with his grandfather checking up on him fortnightly. With no friends to hang out with since his parents didn't quite like the idea of Beomgyu going out to public places where they couldn't keep an eye on, Beomgyu had always been by himself. Sure there were maids, butler, cooks and occasionally a babysitter, they were not Beomgyu's friends. They were servants and the hierarchy established made it difficult for Beomgyu to approach any of them freely and vice versa. Playing in his own room, Beomgyu had always felt lonely. No one would take him out. No one would hold proper conversations with him. No one would play with him. There were so many workers in the mansion, but he had felt like he was the only one in the huge residence. Autumn was a depressing and lonely season for him. He would quietly stare out of the window and watch as the leaves fall onto the ground, painting the surroundings with warm colours. With a marshmallow hot chocolate one of the maids had made for him, Beomgyu would spend his evening reading books in the library. As a young kid, he had learnt to entertain himself and be independent. He never complained. Never whined. He only smiled.

His hatred for autumn took a 180° turn when he first met Taehyun. It was early November when they saw each other for the first time. Even though Beomgyu knew immediately that they wouldn't click at first with how their personalities contrasted each other, he was grateful for his company. It was all he needed; a presence of a kid around his age. Taehyun would stay at their mansion for at least two days each time he visited and it was the greatest gift Beomgyu had ever received. Taehyun was extremely quiet and would isolate himself from Beomgyu most of the time but the older didn't mind that at all. Maybe because Beomgyu was just desperate to have someone similar to his age to be around him. All that mattered to him was Taehyun's presence. It gave him comfort. He no longer felt lonely if Taehyun was within his vicinity. Taehyun would visit every autumn for a few years and every time, Taehyun and Beomgyu would do their own activities despite being together. It never felt awkward to the both of them. It was always comfortable. They would occasionally converse and talk about books or toys but those times were rare with the rarest being Taehyun speaking a lot and voluntarily playing with Beomgyu. Just like autumn, Taehyun felt cold, but the colours and aura emitted were warm. Beomgyu came to love autumn because of Taehyun.

Settling down at a vacant picnic table, Beomgyu helped to unpack the thermal bag they had brought with them. Taehyun had packed some homecooked food for this outing. Bulgogi rice, seaweed soup, radish kimchi and other side dishes were displayed on the table. Beomgyu was the one who cooked the rice and he was very proud of it... Even though it was the rice cooker that did the work.