HIDEOUT: LEE TAEYONG

26

soyoung

we have finally arrived 127, a popular convenience store in seoul that also happen to be my favorite one. i remember sneaking out of my house at precisely 1 am to meet up with yukhei here, all we do is talk and eat endlessly. we took turns about paying each other's food, frequently it was always yukhei buying free food for me. "i'm rich." he would always say those two words after paying.

"the store is empty?" taeil blinked, looking around the store that was abandoned. lights flickering, shelves pushed down and there were no sights of edible food which caused everyone to sigh in disbelief, excluding those with experience (me, taeyong and yuta.)

"god feeds every bird but doesn't put it right in its nest!" mark stepped out, a brave look on his face. "which means god provides, and we must work hard to find food!" the words mark spoken out made taeyong smile.

"exactly, thank you for being useful for once mark." taeyong smiled, sending him a wink and mark seemed to not be offended but flashed a smile back. "you may never know, there could be food hidden in this place, so we shall split up." after taeyong had done his tiny speech, everyone began to clump into the groups they've decided theirselves.

taeyong's eyes enlarged. "oh, yeah mark you're not gonna be paired with johnny. you're coming with me." mark huffed and stomped his foot on the floor, fisting his small baby hands and walking his way up to the leader with a pout on his lips. "aw man!"

everyone had spreaded throughout the store, excluding me and.... johnny.

"you're not ditching me again right?" he asked, eyes began to enlarge wider.

what was i supposed to do now? instead of replying, i cluelessly began to walk and search for food as he ambled beside me. honestly everything about being with johnny is awkward, he's so flirty and i admit he's charming, i guess i'm just the awkward one.

"so, am i not charming enough?" johnny questioned, a sigh filled with disappointment escaped from his lips. "come on, i am charming enough right?" he sighed in disbelief while watching me observe the can foods in the shelves. most of them were empty, but i had hope that some of them weren't.

"johnny, you are charming but i had leave you... i had other plans." i replied, merely focusing on the job i was doing whilst johnny continued babbling about unnecessary things... he could've helped me right now, but i let him talk.

"wait, so you could've went in, if you didn't have other plans?" johnny's excitement began to overflow inside him, it was scaring me and i began to worry because he was taking things in the wrong way. "no johnny! i- uh, no... i wouldn't. why don't you just.. choose dahye or somin?" i suggested and watched his face cringe.

"no, are you insane!" johnny exclaimed in disgust. "the reason why i choose you is because those two girls are.... they just waste my time. well, i guess i can't win your heart huh? seems like someone already did."

"who.... taeyong?"

johnny smirked. "exactly."

"so you're admitting that i officially stole your heart?" a voice from the otherside of the shelf inquired, reazling taeyong stood, a soft smile on his lips at the other side with mark made my heart drop down a pitless hole.

"ooooh, how romancantic!" mark squealed with clasped hands resting beside his jawline. "sorry johnny hyung, but it seems like soyoung is taeyong's girl." mark nudged his hyung with a nasty smile on his lips, although i could tell taeyong was flustered and slightly enjoying it, he shrugged it off by giving mark one of his deadly glare.

i awkwardly gazed at johnny who shrugged his broad shoulders. "anyways, we should get back to work. i bet donghyuck is starving, i don't want him to wait any longer especially with the wound he has." i quickly walked away from them, taking a deep breath and tried to shake away that awkward moment and luckily, johnny had decided to help out.

"hey wait up!" johnny jogged his way up to me, a can on his hand and once he reached me, he nochantanly stuffed it down my backpack. "soyoung, i know it's a bit of a random question but... do you find taeyong interesting?"

for some reason, it felt like i was talking with doyoung but in reality it was johnny. why was he suddenly asking me this?

"interesting? as like..." i paused after seeing johnny nod. "honestly, i don't find him interesting especially during this apocalypse. i feel like romance isn't relevant at the moment." i was a good liar, but i could tell johnny was good at detecting lies because the way he squinted his eyes to me with a small uncanny smile, i knew that he knew i was lying.

"if you're lying or not, i just want to let you know that... that it's rare to see taeyong like this, he had always avoided women but you, he haven't."

"what's your point?" i spoke with a friendly yet bewildered tone.

"my point is, take this chance with taeyong." he smiled before crossing his arms. "what?! what are you talking about, are you insane? trust me, he is not interested in me." i shook my hands and head, johnny chuckling after seeing how panicked i was.

"i've known taeyong for years, he had never talked to girls, only if he really had or was forced to. he lives his life as if women don't exist in earth anymore. but the way taeyong looks at you, i can feel like something between you and him will work out." johnny paused and took a step closer. "i don't mean to pressure you, taeyong has been different ever since he lost an important person in his life. he has become cranky and harsh, but the way i see things when he's with you, he has becoming less aggressive... you can help him become, him again."

all i could think was... what?

what is he talking about? i was so confused i ended up being completely speechless.

"to taeyong, you're not like the other girls." he beamed a smile.

"johnny i have no time to feel like i'm fucking y/n, it's ridiculous." i rolled my eyes. "let's just get back to work."

before i could turn around, johnny had forcefully tugged me so i could meet his eyes. "just... think about it soyoung."

no i shouldn't, it's a way to trick and mess with my mind. why would taeyong even be interested in me? for fact i know that surviving and protecting his people is the only thing in his mind, not some stupid soyoung where he wants to build some type of romance. no, it's not like that.

"fine, i'll think about it." i lied, making johnny sigh in relief.