tell me you love me // taegyu

traces of ourselves

Taehyun continued to show his worry for Beomgyu's disappearance that day. It felt weird not having those two familiar hands on his waist as they had the most random conversation about anything. Taehyun thought about how they spoke about sugar-free lollipops and how they were technically useless (what use is a lollipop with no sugar?). And as they spoke, Beomgyu held his waist. He missed his gentle grip, so much that he he actually wanted to go to Beomgyu's house to check up on him.

"It must be the guy in the white car," Taehyun muttered to no one in particular. Kai shot him a strange glance as the chewing of his sandwich became slower.

"Okay…?" Kai frowned, picking up chewing speed again.

"It's nothing," Taehyun muttered. He wondered if Soobin was at school — if he was, then the situation was definitely strange. He turned around, searching the cafeteria with his eyes. His eyes flicked from person to person, neither landing on Choi Soobin. Eventually, his eyes spotted Choi Yeonjun walking towards them.

"Hey," Yeonjun greeted, sitting down beside Kai. The younger gulped nervously and waved shyly. Soobin sat down as well, which left Taehyun wondering as to how his eyes could really miss someone as tall as Choi Soobin. The tall boy seated himself beside the equally tall junior, putting his head on his shoulder.

"Beomgyu stayed home today," Soobin mumbled. Taehyun raised an eyebrow as Yeonjun placed one of his veiny hands on Kai's thigh. The younger noticeably panicked, but said nothing. Instead, he signalled his distress to Taehyun with panicked glances and eye flickering.

"Why, if I may ask?" Taehyun asked, almost ignoring the tall Junior's silent begging to be free from the flustering position between the two older males.

"Relax, baby," Yeonjun muttered, tapping Kai's thigh gently. Soobin didn't particularly react, which made Taehyun frown.

"He suddnely didn't feel well. He was throwing up and stuff. Food poisoning, we thought," Soobin replied. "You can visit him after school. Dad won't be there."

"Won't he get sick, though?" Yeonjun asked, looking sideways. Instead of looking at Soobin, he rested his nose in the crook of Kai's neck.

"No, babe. Food poisoning isn't airborne," Soobin corrected. "Really, you're not very smart."

"I ain't able to even speak Korean properly."

"That sentence itself made no sense."

"Uhm…" Taehyun glanced around awkwardly, his eyes flicking from one light to the next that hung from the ceiling. "I'm going to go to the bathroom. You'll be fine, right?"

"He'll be fine," Soobin said with a sly smile. Taehyun made a face, standing up from the lunch table. He made sure to take his phone from his backpack, putting it into the inner pocket of his school blazer jacket. He, truthful as he was, walked to the bathroom. It was barely occupied, so he quickly walked to one of the stalls and closed the door.

He sat down on the toilet seat, going into his contacts and searching for Beomgyu's number immediately. He quickly found it, reaching to press on it. But he stopped. Taehyun knew that the man in the car had something to do with Beomgyu's absence. Shaking his head, he pressed the number.

Taehyun placed the phone to his ear as soon as it started ringing. He bit his lip as those painfully slow rings echoed into his ear. Soon, there was a small click sound. "Hello?"

Taehyun sighed heavily, relief falling from that one breath. "You're not dead, thank God."

"Why would I be dead?" Beomgyu questioned. "And were you really concerned? You're so sweet, baby."

Taehyun blushed. "Of course I'd be worried. I… I kind if miss you? I don't know if I can say that."

Beomgyu laughed a bit. "You can say you missed me. Flattering, really — thank you."

Taehyun rolled his eyes. Of course. "Why didn't you come in today?"

"Tummy ache. Was 'vomiting and excreting bodily waste at an alarming rate', as mom told the doctor my symptoms. It could be my lactose intolerance reaction because I ate cake when I got home."

"Oh, you're lactose intolerant? Poor you," Taehyun fake pouted.

"Don't look down on me!" Beomgyu whined. Taehyun smiled lovingly as he shook his head. "You can come see me after school. Dad isn't going to be home for the evening."

"Oh. Can I?" Taehyun asked carefully.

Beomgyu laughed. "Of course! I really miss you, you know. Like — this much. Oh shit, you can't see."

Taehyun laughed. "Okay, I'll see at your home. Don't wait up on me, okay? And rest lots."

"I'll sleep just before you come," Beomgyu answered, his voice quieter than before. "So… see you later?"

Taehyun smiled. "Later."

"Gosh, your voice is so pretty."

"I need to go now. Good-bye, Beommie."

Beomgyu laughed. "Good-bye, baby."

Taehyun blushed a bit and hung up before Beomgyu said anything further. He sighed melodramatically, putting his phone to his chest as he looked up at the ceiling. "Gosh, why did it have to be him?"

He stood up from the toilet seat, putting his phone into his pocket. He wondered if he'd be able to hug Beomgyu when he sees him. He rushed out the bathroom, seeing Kai sitting all alone while looking down at the lunch table with panicked eyes.

"What happened?" Taehyun frowned, sitting beside his backpack and carefully slipping his phone into the secret compartment.

Kai was still blushing madly. "Th-they asked m-me out…"

"What?!" Taehyun covered his mouth quickly after he got the attention of a few annoyed students. He bit his lip sheepishly before turning to Kai again. "Are you serious? And what did you say?"

Kai groaned, resting his head on his open palms. "I didn't answer. But Soobin said he'll wait for an answer because it looked like I wanted to date them. But… uhm… Yeonjun hyung is taking me out tomorrow afternoon. With Soobin, of course."

Taehyun squealed, clapping his hands excitedly. "Yay! To be honest, I wouldnt mind having two hot boyfriends. It's an advantage, really."

"But I'm sixteen."

"Yeah, and? They won't do bad things to you — I can't really promise, though, based on how Beomgyu talks about Soobin's unusual sexual activity."

"Stop it, you're scaring me!"