Short Stories- Kai ships only!

Tyunning- Mutual Appreciation

"Taehyun?"

"Yeah?"

"Im grateful to you."

Taehyun grinned as he read his book. He put a bookmark on the page then set it to the side. "I know you are. I'm fucking awesome."

Kai started to pout. He flipped over to face the wall, upset he didn't receive a compliment back.

Taehyun jumped onto his bed then shook him. "Hey! I was kidding! Come on... don't be like that."

Kai huffed.

Taehyun ripped the blanket off so he could see his best friend's face. "I'm grateful to you too. What brought that on?"

"I've been seeing a therapist..."

"Oh?" He realized this was serious. "Since when?"

Kai sat up. He leaned back against the headboard to face him. "Since last week? I've been burnt out lately. I wish I had more people to hang out with but I feel like even if I did, I wouldn't have the energy to. I wish I was you sometimes..."

Taehyun did not expect that. He couldn't count how many times he wished he was Kai. From his looks to his angelic personality, it was all things to be envied. He knew his best friend had been feeling depressed for a while but he figured things were better. He seemed happier. That smile was deceiving. "Why do you wish you were me?"

"Because you don't care as much about going out alone as I do. You just go. You're unapologetically yourself. I hate going places without someone to talk to. You just are naturally friendly with everyone."

"Kai... I care more than you think. Do you understand how many times I wished you were with me? You're always with someone else though. None of the other members are jumping at the chance to hang out with me... Beomgyu and Soobin almost compete to hang out with you! Yeonjun annoys you whenever you don't send him gifts in animal crossing. I love you. You're my best friend." Taehyun leaned down to hug him. "You can always go with me to places. If you want, I can start dragging you out more!"

Kai hugged him back. They sat still for a long time. Taehyun was always the person he felt he could open up to. They shared being the youngest in their group. They shared vocal responsibilities. Taehyun never made fun of his problems. The other members either make jokes or don't listen as well as he does. When he pulled away, he stared down at the mattress. "I hope therapy helps. I'm just tired of feeling depressed all the time. I want a break but I don't even know what I would do. It's not like I can go see my family."

"Next time we get a break, we should travel together! Just you and me." Taehyun intertwined their hands. "You can always talk to me. You know that right?"

Kai lightly nodded. His eyes didn't break from the mattress as he fiddled with his bedding. "I know. That's why I'm talking to you now." He looked up and smiled. "Anything you want to get off your chest?"

"Sure. Why not?" He adjusted his position to feel more comfortable. The blanket went over both of their legs. They went back to holding hands again. "Do you think people would even notice me if I wasn't jacked? Because I don't think they would. You constantly trend without showing your body. I don't think anyone paid attention to me until I started showing mine."

Kai tried to smile but it was hard. This conversation was much more serious than he intended it to be. "Honestly? Yes. You're the golden voice for a reason. You can't listen to one of our songs without remembering your voice. I've always thought you were handsome too. Don't tell Soobin but your eyes were always my favorite among the group."

Taehyun adorably smiled at the compliment. "Thanks Kai. I'm definitely telling him later though!"

"Go ahead! He won't be that mad! He'll probably say Beomgyu is the most attractive again!"

"Want to see?" Taehyun went to stand up but Kai pulled him right back down onto the bed. The two started wrestling. Kai held back until he was rolled onto the floor. Taehyun grabbed the closest plushy to him and began beating him with it.

Yeonjun came in to see what the yelling was about. He walked right back out when he saw them staring at him on the floor.

As soon as he left, the two resumed their war. Kai was ready to end it. He dragged Taehyun by his foot to the other side of the room. It made the shorter squeal as he laughed. Taehyun yelled "truce! Truce!"

Kai stopped. He knew he was about to get pinned to the ground but he had hope Taehyun meant it this time.

Taehyun did not honor his truce. He swept Kai's legs from under him then pinned him to the ground. "I win!"

Kai gave up. "No fair! You said truce!"

Taehyun got off then offered his hand. Once Kai was on his feet, he asked "want to go eat somewhere?"

"Sure! I'm starving."

Yeonjun saw the two put their shoes on. He asked "where are you guys going?"

They simultaneously said "we're going to get food."

Yeonjun got excited. "Wait for me!"

The two looked at each other then ran out when Yeonjun went into his bedroom to grab his jacket. They laughed as they ran to the end of the block. Their phones were blowing up with angry messages from the older but they didn't care. This was their time together. Yeonjun would get over it by the morning. He always did.

They stopped inside of a convenience store to get some quick ramen. Kai grabbed a bag full of snacks for their room. They were getting low. Taehyun grabbed a bunch of drinks for their mini fridge. Once their food was paid for, they sat on the side of the building, on the ground. It was dark. No one recognized them. No one would also believe two idols were eating cheap food against a small market at night.

Kai offered to throw their containers away. They walked back, guessing at how mad Yeonjun would be. Beomgyu let them know Yeonjun went to get food by himself. They said goodnight then went into their room. Kai put the snacks away while Taehyun showered. He drank a bottle of flavored water. The ramen left him feeling dehydrated.

Taehyun stepped out to let Kai go in next. He too grabbed a water then went back to reading his book. It was a simple chapter book but it was in english. He wanted to be more fluent so Kai didn't have the burden of speaking all the time.

Kai stepped out. He dramatically yawned then plopped onto his bed. His phone went to charge then he stared at the ceiling.

Taehyun looked over. It was odd not to see his best friend playing video games. "Are you okay?"

"Right now I am. I'm just trying to write a song in my head. I have the music down but no lyrics are coming to mind."

"You have instrumentals?"

Kai sat up then started playing what he threw together on his phone. Taehyun grabbed his to start typing in lyric ideas into his notes app. They spent the next hour bouncing potential verses off of each other. The theme was established. Three possible hooks were jotted down as well as a couple key lines. The song was secretly going to be about their friendship. It would have to be written in a way where could be about anyone but they knew it was for them.

Before they went to sleep, Taehyun reread all of their lyrics. "This is a good start! Do you think we should pitch it tomorrow?"

"We're dancing tomorrow."

"Oh. Right. We record the day after or the end of the week?"

"End of the week? I think we have promotional things between dance lessons."

"That works! We will have more lyrics then!"

Kai played the intrumentals one last time. He kept notes on Taehyun's suggestions for potential beats or pitch changes. They started a shared file together to make it easier to review. "I have a good feeling about this. It's amazing already!"

"It is! And it's ours."

They went to sleep happy. When the two were back in the recording studio, they played their demos of what they spent a week on. Their team loved it. It was sent to their top producers who approved it an hour later. They got on a call with them and listened to all of their feedback. Kai hugged Taehyun when it was over. They had a hit. Now they just had to record it.