like never before | beomkai

37 | you kept the drawing

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Kai read the engraved words in the gigantic rock placed by the entrance: "The truth shall set you free." — John 8:32

"Do you think this has something to do with the university?" Taehyun nudged his shoulder as they made their way inside the campus.

"Not sure, but it has got to be when it's the first thing you see in Yeonseo."

Taehyun wrapped his arm around Kai's and tugged him down to his height. "That's why you need to tell me the truth. What was the gift you gave Beomgyu hyung besides the cake?"

"It's embarrassing to say," Kai pouts. "But it's a lullaby—a short piano piece that I composed."

"That's the cutest thing ever!"

"I don't know if he liked it though."

Taehyun frowns. He got too excited, didn't he? "Still not talking?"

"Not yet."

Taehyun pushed him playfully, perhaps as a way to show comfort. It triggered a laugh that was building up in Kai's throat, but he covered it up with a cough. He was sure Taehyun would never leave him alone once he took the words from the engraved rock to heart—so for now, he's choosing to suppress all the sentences falling in line at the tip of his tongue.

They part ways for their lectures; Kai took the time to read the messages Beomgyu sent him.

At noon, Kai sat beside Soobin for lunch, not looking up to meet Beomgyu's eyes even when the older one tried.

Amidst the subtle conversations and overall silence on the table, Rin came by with a smug expression. "I heard this loser and pretty boy broke up."

Soobin hissed. "Shut up, Rin."

"Pretty boy?" Kai cocked his head to the side. He was wondering who it was, but Rin's smile when she faced him and her scowl when she faced Beomgyu was enough to tell who's who. "Ah.."

"Well, then, I'm shooting my shot," Rin hollered. She was so loud that it almost made Kai burst into fits of laughter. "Are you free tonight?"

"Oh, uh.." Kai acts oblivious. "I guess," As soon as he said that, he felt a nudge in his foot from under the table. He doesn't look at the person sitting across from him.

Rin was a little out of character; Kai knew her enough to know what she's doing—he just doesn't know if Beomgyu would cooperate.

"Great. Let's go out," Rin leaned in to boldly peck Kai's cheek, but was pushed away by a sulking Beomgyu in a second. "I knew it."

"The nerve you have to ask my boyfriend out in front of me," Kai had the urge to call in a ball when he heard what Beomgyu said. Before Kai could refute it, Soobin already grabbed his face between his hands.

"Boyfriend?!"

What happened to keeping it low?

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Needless to say, it's a long story.

Confessions and apologies rained on them that night, and Beomgyu broke the single thread, keeping his composure. One moment he was holding Kai close, the next he's jumping for a fall so great. ("Be my boyfriend." "That doesn't sound like a question.")

Either way, who was Kai to say no? They've waited enough, they've fought enough, and cried enough. For what it's worth, giving in to love is being kinder.

"You kept the drawing," They were in Kai's room when Beomgyu grabbed a picture frame from the desk. It showed a drawing of a small bus on a sunny day.

Looking at it made Kai realize how far they've come. "It's cute."

"Kai," Beomgyu called. He rested against the table to face his boyfriend. "Huening Kai."

"Hm?"

"You like me too much."

Kai rolls his eyes. "Sure," He didn't look at Beomgyu when changed into one of the shirts Beomgyu left a few days ago when he stayed over.

"Thank you for liking me."

"Uh-huh," Kai threw himself on the bed and fiddled with his phone. He tries not to fall for Beomgyu's sentimental words, but his flushed face says otherwise.

Beomgyu whined at the indifference. "Hey, give me attention."

"I am!" Kai doesn't. He gasped in surprise when Beomgyu snatched the phone from his hand and threw it by the pillows, allowing the device to get lost between them. "That was not very nice," Kai tried sitting up, but was met with Beomgyu's weight falling on him.

"I'm staying the night."

"Don't you have band practice with your friends at 9pm?" Kai lets Beomgyu's head fall on his chest while his arms encircle the smaller one's waist.

"They're not my friends," Beomgyu hissed. "I stopped being their friend a while ago!"

"Are those the same people that push you around?" Beomgyu answered Kai's question with a nod. "Good."

"I want a reward."

Kai waited for what Beomgyu was going to ask, but it never came. Instead, he feels the older one lifting himself up with his arms and climbing to meet his face with a mischievous grin. "Do you need something?"

"A kiss," Beomgyu doesn't hesitate to answer, yet he stays frozen. "Only if you want me to."

Kai teasingly trailed his fingers from Beomgyu's waist up to his face before running them through his locks. Kissing Beomgyu sounds like a fantasy—he barely remembers what it's like to have their lips touched and it drew spirals in his chest. The way Beomgyu's eyes fixated on his lips doesn't help him at all.

Be kinder.

He wrapped his arms around Beomgyu's shoulders and swiftly lifted his body like a hop to press a quick peck on Beomgyu's lips. "There."

It ended too soon. Too soon for Beomgyu's liking. "That was not a kiss."

"Take it or leave it," Kai chirped.

Beomgyu gave up on holding back.

He leaned down to claim Kai's lips properly, plopping his elbow down while the other held his weight better. Beomgyu gently traced the seams of Kai's lips with his tongue before leaving soft nibbles to calm his eagerness.

Kai found the courage to chuckle, but drowned in the kiss when Beomgyu held his chin to his favor, sliding his tongue in a swift motion with tiny gasps of air on Kai's end.

Oh my. Kai forgot how great it feels to kiss Beomgyu—he forgot why he ended up dedicating an entire page writing about the burning fire he felt when they kissed for the first time.

Beomgyu was relentless. He was letting go of all the pent up frustration and desire, and refused to stop unsatisfied. If it weren't for Kai's hand tugging the strands of his hair, he wouldn't have allowed the tiniest distance between them.

He admires Kai's greatest attempts to breathe after a breathtaking kiss.

"That's how you kiss," Beomgyu whispered before nuzzling his nose against Kai's flushed cheeks. "Kai."

"Hm?" Kai's voice was rigid.

"I love you. Thank you for being here."

Kai's heart was full. "I love you."