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On the next Wednesday, Taehyun arrives at the small café exactly 1:59 pm with a red rose in his right hand - and this time very dry. He's clothed in the best items he could find that don't look overly expensive and show offish. Beomgyu laughs when he takes out the rose.
Taehyun pushes it into his hands with a wink. "I'll give you one for every date we go on."
"So, you start counting today?" The black-haired man asks with a cheeky smile.
"I thought last time was a date?" Taehyun replies with the same cheekiness.
Beomgyu hums. "Shouldn't it be two roses then?"
"First, we will have to see if this can really be called a date." He bows and offers his hand to Beomgyu, who slaps it away playfully.
They laugh. "Let's go. What are we doing today?"
"I thought we could do the typical first date stuff like seeing a movie." Beomgyu's smile proves that he's made the right choice.
"What are we watching?"
Taehyun grins at him and starts walking off. "Wait and see."
+×+
They watch a horror movie, despite it still being as bright as day outside. He pays for everything, even if his wallet is a little tight right now. He's sure that Beomgyu is worth every cent.
Taehyun chose the movie for a reason and it seems like he was right with his predictions. Beomgyu is scared throughout the whole movie, jerking at every jump scare and clinging to Taehyun's arm.
The younger man does his best to hide how very unaffected he is from the horror movie - it's quite boring and he's probably staring more at his date then the screen. Near the end, their hands touch and their fingers intertwine.
Taehyun's gives the hand a comforting squeeze when another gruesome scene appears. It's definitely all worth it when the black-haired hides his face against Taehyun's neck.
Beomgyu seems more than relieved when they finally leave the theater again. Their hands are still connected, but neither pulls away. Taehyun wishes he could hold the soft hand all day. It feels like magic when they touch like this.
It makes him believe in Beomgyu's "Happiness doesn't come from money" slogan, but in the back of his mind, there is still this fear of losing said happiness again any minute.
This kind of happiness seems fleeting and vulnerable. If you buy happiness, it's more stable - it's yours - and as long as you have money, no one can take it from you.
"This was...great." Beomgyu's words snapped him from his thoughts.
Taehyun laughed. "You were scared the whole time. You should've said that horror is not your genre when we picked the movie."
"Oh god, no. We would've had to see the sappy romance movie instead then. It was okay, really, better than drowning in grease. I'm not really the type for romance movies, but I'm guessing you like horror? I thought for sure you'd choose the other movie."
"I figured you're not the type for romance. Besides, doesn't give a horror movie two persons the perfect chance to get closer?" Taehyun asks and swings their connected hands to prove his point.
The black-haired man glances at their hands. Beomgyu smiles. "So you had a hidden agenda all along?"
"Maybe~ it was quite cute when you clung to me."
Beomgyu narrows his eyes at him, but the sparkle in them shows he isn't really mad. "Now I see what kind of man you really are."
Taehyun pouts cutely. "Will you forgive me if I buy you ice cream?"
"Probably depends on the flavor. If you choose wrong, I'm going to dump you."
Good thing he still remembers Beomgyu's favorite flavor from their middle school time. The older man is pleasantly surprised that he guesses right the first time and when Taehyun asks him if they really would've broken up because of that, Beomgyu shakes his head.
"We are not even dating yet."
"We are going on dates."
"And that makes you my boyfriend?"
"No, but it's only a matter of time."
And time it surely takes.
Although they are very obviously attracted to each other, they don't become a couple quickly. Beomgyu wants to know him better, good enough, before they can talk about a relationship.
They go on dates whenever time allows it - especially Taehyun's tight schedule, although he tends to skip work at La' Creme or classes when there is no other way.
The weekends are not spent in the clubs anymore, at least not as often as before. He still enjoys the crowd and the feeling of control, but Taehyun's money has another purpose now.
He invests it into taking Beomgyu to amusement parks, doing trips to the beach with him or simply buying him ice cream. The older man pays from time to time as well. They take turns -to the relief of Taehyun's pocket - because Beomgyu doesn't want Taehyun to buy him things all the time just because he's rich - which he's not.
They take turns deciding what to do on dates too. Beomgyu still hasn't given upon showing him that money is not important.
They give out food at a shelter once and Beomgyu also makes him buy normal clothes. He doesn't exactly force Taehyun. He goes shopping with him and they try on different things.
Taehyun ends up buying most things Beomgyu picks, especially those that got a 'It suits you' or 'Very handsome' comment from the other. So he doesn't really make Taehyun buy anything directly. It's more like Taehyun makes himself buy them, because he wants to wear the clothes Beomgyu picked for him.
His wallet is crying constantly, but Taehyun doesn't care. He skips a meal here and there to save money and goes out without Beomgyu even less.
The weirdest thing is probably that Huening is starting to act friendlier to him. Whenever he fetches Beomgyu at the café, he bumps into the waiter.
But somewhere along the line, Huening stops glaring at him and gives him a somewhat approving look instead.
