Sound of Winter || Taegyu

Chapter Twenty Seven

The darkness of the living room slowly dissipates, revealing the faintest hint of light seeping through the cracks of the drawn curtain. Beomgyu sits in the armchair, knees pulled to his chest as he stares down at the wood plank flooring. The living room is bathed in a somber twilight, the remnants of the night still clinging to every corner of the room, casting long shadows that dance ominously with the growing dawn.

It's a chilly October morning, the birds chirping merrily in the trees outside. They're happy – a complete contrast to how Beomgyu's feeling right now.

He's sitting on the couch by himself, all alone in the dark living room while Taehyun is in the office upstairs. It's been silent between them ever since the incident in the bathroom, and he doesn't know what to say anymore, so he lets the silence linger between them.

He knows that Taehyun's angry. He can see it in the tightening of his jaw and curtness in his tone. At first, he tried to ask what was wrong, but Taehyun's responses remained clipped and dry, which led him to where he is now. To make matters worse, he can't even tell if he's the one Taehyun is mad at.

Taehyun's reaction makes him feel sick to his stomach, and Beomgyu almost regrets talking to him about it completely. He's always trusted Taehyun with his life, but now he feels like he's created a huge problem between them, and he has no idea how to fix it.

Ever since the words have left his mouth, he's been engulfed in wave after wave of regret, wishing that he could take back everything he said. He feels vulnerable and exposed, like he's shown a part of himself that he desperately wishes to erase

As the minutes tick by, his mind races. He keeps replaying the conversation in his head, analyzing every word, every gesture. He wonders what thoughts were going through Taehyun's head, if he actually wanted to know what happened with Seiji. What if Taehyun doesn't want to be with him anymore? Is he too far broken for Taehyun to fix?

He can still hear Taehyun's shaky breath in his ear as he walked out of the bathroom, leaving Beomgyu standing alone, the sound of the door shutting behind him like sharp shards of glass. He wanted to follow after him, to apologize and beg for Taehyun to just say something. But why should he be the one to apologize for doing what Taehyun has asked him to do all along?

He would've never told him about Seiji if he knew he was going to be left alone in the wreckage of their shattered conversation.

Lost in his thoughts, he doesn't even notice Taehyun walking into the room until he sees his silhouette dancing against the wall from the dim stove light. He looks different, somehow. His shoulders are slumped, his eyes shadowed with exhaustion. Beomgyu's more than positive that he's the reason Taehyun's so tired as well.

Without saying a word, Taehyun walks into the kitchen, making himself a cup of coffee. A pang of disappointment shoots through his chest. He doesn't know why he expected anything to be different between them, hoping for something broken to magically fix itself.

An excruciatingly long minute passes and Taehyun still doesn't say anything, engrossed in his own thoughts as he stares down at the coffee maker. Beomgyu feels a sense of loneliness wash over him, hoping that maybe Taehyun just didn't see him on the couch.

"What are you making?" Beomgyu musters up the courage to ask, finally placing his feet flat on the floor, sitting up in the armchair.

Taehyun turns around, his face expressionless. "Coffee," he replies curtly before turning back to what he was doing.

"Oh," Beomgyu mumbles, a knot forming in his stomach.

A wave of sadness washes over him. He doesn't understand where things went so wrong and why Taehyun is being distant. The last thing he needs right now is to question Taehyun and make him even more mad. So instead he slouches down on the couch, staring blankly at the wall in silence, the emptiness of the room echoing the hollow ache in his heart.