Lovely - TAEGYU ✔️

four

Knowing his mom might be a secret agent spying on him 24/7 by camouflaging herself in the darkness of their living room, Beomgyu didn't really had much of a choice but resort to leaping from his window to the nearest branch of the tree outside.

God bless his strength, his bones are safe.
And God bless it's 4am on a public holiday.

Beomgyu makes his way down town with a hoddie pulled over to cover his head and a mask to cover the lower part of his face. He carries a bag over his shoulders, containing all his cans of spray paint.

Is it Beomgyu's graffiti night?
...You could say that...
Or not.

Lit up by the street lights, he quietly approaches the familiar white exterior and fishes out the keys from the depths of his pocket to insert it into the keyhole.

As soon as he hears the click of the door, Beomgyu scoffs, his lips turning into an evil grin.

"Well, would you look at that." Beomgyu whispers to himself in satisfaction.
He quietly pushes the door open and slips himself in. He pulls his hoodie and mask down to eye the dark room. With the aid of the flashlight from his phone, he finds some familiar faces of the small animals.

A few puppies and cats in their cages were awake thanks to the illuminating light, but maybe it's because they recognise Beomgyu that they're not making a ruckus.

Beomgyu places an index finger on his lips, as if talking to them, he asks them to remain silent as he proceeds with his dubious plans.

+×+

Taehyun feels uneasy. He finds himself tossing and turning himself in the thickness of his blanket, positioning himself to find a peaceful sleeping position...
Only to fail.

The soft white-gold light of the new day seeps through the the gaps of his curtains. Taehyun doesn't want to wake up, it's a public holiday after all, but the uneasiness in him is urging him to move his feet and hop off bed, no matter how much he hates it.

Was he feeling uneasy because he left the keys to the pet shelter at Beomgyu's? He was well aware of it, but he realized it when he was halfway walking back home yesterday night.

He shouldn't be feeling anxious in any way, he's sure Mrs Choi is holding onto the keys well. He has a spare key after all, he'll stop by the Choi's to pick it up later.

The hues of his bedroom soon move from a soft pastel light to a brilliant pop art, signalling the Sun had fully rose.

Taehyun whines, he feels groggy as fuck. The dark haired boy rolls over his bed, giving into his senses as he gets up from bed and heads to the bathroom to freshen up.

After freshening up and grabbing himself a light breakfast, he glances at the clock and thinks it's best to open the pet shelter. It's a public holiday after all, more customers or volunteers are deemed to visit.

As he slips into his shoes, Taehyun grabs onto the door knob and fling the front door open only to hear a yelp from the other side.

He eyes the lady in red who has a bucket filled with water at her side and a towel in her grip.

"Aunt Jihye?" Taehyun asks, tilting his head in confusion upon seeing his neighbour at his front door.

"Taehyun-ah, good morning..." Aunt Jihye greets.
Taehyun could recognise something was wrong just by looking at Aunt Jihye's eyes. He takes a step outside and looks at his door. His eyes widen seeing the words 'Fake' sprayed in red on his door. He sighs, catching his neighbour's attention.

"Who could've done such a thing..." She says with a sullen tone.
Taehyun smiles reassuringly. "They're just playing around, Aunt Jihye. Y'know, kids my age tend to be mischievous." He says.

Taehyun picks up another towel and soaks it in the bucket of water, before squeezing it with his hands.
"Let me clean it up, you shouldn't be cleaning up my mess Aunt Jihye." Taehyun insists, wiping off the red words on his door.

Aunt Jihye puts a hand on his arm, halting his movements. "No one messes with my favourite boy, Taehyun-ah, now, go and open the pet shelter sweetheart, or the animals will starve." She says, patting him reassuringly.

Taehyun sighs. "Okay. Make sure you take your meds, Aunt Jihye."
"You should be looking out for yourself more, Taehyun-ah."
Taehyun smiles faintly before locking the door and leaving.

Ever since Taehyun's dad passed away due to cancer, Hyewon and Taehyun moved into his current apartment and ever since then, their neighbour, Aunt Jihye would always look out for them and be the motherly figure they've always wanted. After all, Taehyun was only thirteen and Hyewon's barely sixteen during the time.

Their mother?

Taehyun never met her. All he knew was that she left after giving birth to him. Not even Hyewon remembers her face, it had been too long, and it wasn't a pleasant memory. It was better left abandoned.
He only has Hyewon and Aunt Jihye to depend on.

Taehyun walks down town, letting the breeze caress his cheeks and he strolls pass the cafes and shops. When he approaches the pet shelter, he stops a few steps away.

A perplexed expression crosses his face as he squint his eyes to see the door left ajar.
'Maybe Mrs Choi went in to return the keys.'

Taehyun walks towards the pet shelter and as soon as he pushes the door open, he yelps when something hard falls on him, covering his vision and his entire body drench wet.

The young boy removes the bucket from his head, eyebrows furrowing as he shakes off the water dripping from the coal locks of his hair.
"Who the hell..." Taehyun mutters to himself, shivering from the cold.

He then spots a piece of paper with a key on top of it on the counter. He trudge towards it, picking the piece of paper up. He unfolds it and his eyes dart across the words of the note before crumpling them in his fists as he feels himself fueling up.

"Choi fucking Beomgyu!!" Taehyun whispers shout as he balls his knuckles into fists.
Taehyun fishes his phone to dial the older's number angrily and places it near his ear.

"What are you calling for? I was sleeping..." Beomgyu picks up the call.
Taehyun scoffs in disbelief. "Well, someone could've returned the keys nicely."
"Oh? Taehyun-ah?" Beomgyu chuckles upon realisation who the caller was. "Did you like my surprise?"

"suRpriSE?? Pathetic. Is it because I told our disciplinary teacher?? I was only defending my rights???"

"Well, I'm defending mine. So we're equal."
Taehyun clicks his tongue. "Fuck you."
"I would if I want to but you're not a girl-"

The other end of the call drops silent and Beomgyu chuckles, amused by the situation.
"Cat got your tongue again, Kang? Have a good day Taehyunnie, don't forget to dry yourself up."

Taehyun's face heats up and was about to lash out at the vulgar words the older used but was hung up.

Taehyun ruffles his fingers through his damp locks in frustration. He takes a deep breath, calming himself down. He's got no time to lash out when anytime soon people will be visiting the shelter.

Taehyun quickly goes to the second floor of the shelter, his 'second home' he calls it and changes into something else.

+×+

"What a sadist." Sungchan comments, after listening to their conversation.
Beomgyu had just ended the call with Taehyun and rolls back onto his bed while his friend sits on the floor, playing games on his phone.

"The fuck do you mean?" Beomgyu cocks an eyebrow.
"You're being mean to your soulmate. He's gonna be the person you'll be spending your life with y'know."

Beomgyu scoffs."Bullshit. I rather stay single or stray with someone else anyways."
Sungchan snickers. "Yeah right. You guys are already close. One of you is deemed to fall in love."

Beomgyu plops an arm to raise himself up. "Close? Bullshit. We hate each other to the core and love won't magically bloom between us out of nowhere." Beomgyu says, rolling his eyes in annoyance.

Sungchan stops playing his game to glance at his annoyed best friend.
"If you were God, I'd believe you. But you're not. The universe doesn't always play your way, Beomgyu."