4*TOWN

Chateau 2

"How I acted was... unfair to you. And really, I was a terrible boyfriend."

Robaire apologizes sincerely, and Tae doesn't respond or even look back at him.

"You have every reason to be mad at me. And you probably... I mean, I saw you and Justin in all the magazines and stuff."

Tae looks up at that.

"...And If you want to be with him, I can't stop you. Whatever- whatever makes you happy..."

Robaire tries to steady his voice, feeling his eyes start to water. He sighs.

"Um, I'm sorry too. About that."

Tae says. Robaire has a look of slight confusion on his face, and he shakes his head.

"No, Tae, you don't have to apologize. You're allowed to talk to other people, we broke up. This was my fault completely."

"If I had just stayed away from Justin the first time, then you wouldn't have gotten mad and blew up at me."

Robaire thinks to himself for a second; Tae is partially right-- but this is his apology.

"Maybe. But I would've been mad regardless, it's Justin we're talking about. I was just... really jealous, and I was scared. And I really didn't mean any of those things I said to you the other night."

Tae Young sadly looks away as he remembers.

"That was completely out of line. I never want to make you feel that way again. I'm... I'm trying to change, but it's hard."

Robaire stutters, keeping his distance from Tae Young who still isn't returning his eye contact.

"The way I dealt with this whole situation has just been really immature. I hope that... You can forgive me one day."

As Robaire finishes, Tae wipes a stray tear from his own face. He's still not happy with him, but somehow it's comforting, knowing their relationship isn't completely beyond repair. The day will come when he'll forgive Robaire, but it's not today. Tae silently gestures for Robaire to sit down beside him.

"The only reason I've been seeing Justin is because he reminds me so much of you. Except without all the arguments. I'm gonna need some time before I can fully forgive you, but I will."

"He reminds you of me?"

Tae nods.

"I guess that's why I liked him."

Robaire almost smiles, and he probably would have if Tae were talking about anyone else.

"Oh. Well- I don't... I don't know what to say."

"That's okay..."

"Uh, anyways, about Justin."

Robaire continues.

"I know that I haven't been treating you the way you deserve, but I really, really care about you. And I know for a fact that he doesn't."

Tae Young starts to lose the slight hopeful feeling he had, sighing in frustration.

"Sorry, you probably don't wanna hear this. But he's only using you to get back at me. And I know I make everything about myself, but I'm serious."

"Yeah, okay."

After Tae Young's almost passive aggressive response, Robaire decides to just change the topic. Clearly it's still a touchy subject for Tae, and Robaire's just looking for peace between them.

"Enough about him, I guess. I'll leave you alone. But first, I just... I just want you to know that if you ever decide you wanna try again, I swear I'll take it seriously this time."

Tae Young bites his lip as he considers. He's seen Robaire vulnerable, of course. But not like this. Robaire owning up to his actions? Almost unheard of. Especially as of late.

"Robaire, I..."

Tae says quietly, trying and failing to put his thoughts into words. He sighs, just letting his head fall onto Robaire's shoulder. Neither of them shy away from the contact, seemingly forgetting about the bad terms that they're on.

"I love you."

Robaire says without thinking, blinking away tears again. During the few seconds that it took Tae to respond, Robaire's holding his breath, mentally scolding himself as he wonders how and why he let that slip out.

"...I love you too. And I never stopped."

Tae finally replies. Even though he's glad that he still feels the same way, it's not the response that Robaire would have expected.

"I can't say that I deserve that. But I'll try."

Robaire says. Tae sits up, keeping his face close to Robaire's. They stay silent as they look at each other, and Robaire just wants to kiss him. Tae leans in, his subconscious getting the same idea, but stops himself when he realizes what he's doing. Robaire opens his eyes when he doesn't feel Tae's lips on his.

"Uh..."

"Sorry. I'll go now."

Robaire's blushing as he stands up, and Tae runs a hand through his hair.

"Okay. See you later."

☆

The next day, 4*Town is out doing another promotional event for their album. This time it's a debut performance of their new single. The show is just first on their long to do list.

The moment the band steps onstage, it's like a switch was flipped. You wouldn't even be able to tell that anything was wrong; that they'd just been glaring daggers at each other just moments before, by the way their smiles look so natural. Robaire's just glad he's not sitting by Jesse after what happened that morning.

Immediately after finishing their song and a few questions, the guys are already being driven to another interview. T leans his head back against the limo's window and groans.

"Why do we have to be doing all this at eight in the morning? I only got like, four hours of sleep."

He complains, and Raya rolls her eyes.

"That's not my fault. Also, don't lean on the window. You'll mess up your hair."

T grumbles to himself as he sits up straight.

"Don't act like you guys haven't done this before. It's your job."

Raya says.

"Ugh, I know. I'm just tired."

"We really didn't do much in that performance. No dancing."

Z adds, idly taking T's hand.

"Oh, speaking of dancing..."

Raya continues, and Z raises an eyebrow.

"Sorry, Z. I hired some choreographers for you guys. I know you like doing that stuff yourself, but I think they'll help."

Z looks at her with a straight face.

"You think I need help?"

He says, and T laughs quietly.

"I'm just saying that it'll make your job easier."

"I don't need it to be easier."

"Okay. Go ahead and choreograph the entire two hour show alone, and teach it to the band and the twenty backup dancers. In two months."

"I can do that easily-"

"Okay, that's enough."

Jesse cuts in.

"It's too early for this, guys. Z, it wouldn't kill you to have some people help with the routines. And if you must argue, at least be quiet about it. Tae already has a headache and you're about to give me one too."

Z just rolls his eyes, and Raya looks at her phone.

"Sorry. We're almost there, anyway."

☆