march, 2018

it was practically four in the morning when taeyong finished practice and recording at the studio. nct 127 was about to have a comeback, and the leader wanted to do his best to please both the fans and himself.

taeyong yawned and rubbed his eyes as the tired boy walked down the empty sidewalk. no one was out this late-early, but he still wore his mask. it was when he almost ran into a sign when he decided to get something to drink.

the half-asleep boy practically dragged himself to the closest coffee shop that was open 24 hours. when he looked at the bright neon sign, his sleep-deprived brain only saw scribbles. he pushed the door, not surprised that there was no one inside, and took a seat at a little table pushed against one of the walls. taeyong blinked numerous times to keep himself away, his posture getting worse and worse and sleep attacked his limbs. maybe if he just rested his eyes...

"sir?"

the sudden voice slapped taeyong in the face and he straightened instantly, eyes wide. looking up, he spotted the owner of the voice and froze.

he was handsome-too handsome for taeyong's liking. his hair was dyed white and fluffier than any hair taeyong had ever seen. it looked messy, but not in a bad way. so fluffy... almost like a cloud.

"can i get you something to drink?"

the startled boy blinked again as he processed the man's words. he kept getting distracted by the battle between deepness and gentleness of the man's voice. taeyong stuttered over his words as he hurriedly looked over the menu.

"u-uh, do you just have hot chocolate?" the man nodded and smiled, flashing his pearly whites. taeyong looked away as he felt heat rise to his cheeks.

"one hot chocolate. will that be all?" still unable to meet the strangers sparkling eyes, taeyong nodded quickly. the shadow cast by the man vanished when he did, and the tired boy closed his eyes in embarrassment.

the rest of the trip was a blur. taeyong paid for his drink and decided to drink it on the way him. before he had the chance to leave, the deep voice filled his ears and froze his limbs. "get home safe and sleep. you look like you need it."

taeyong hung his head when he felt the blush return. he glanced over his shoulder and nodded at the man, hoping that he'd think his face only looked pink because of his red hair. then he left.

•

taeyong woke up with a groan as he stretched. he didn't remember getting home-he barely remembered leaving the studio. he told himself he wouldn't stay up that late again, but he knew it was a lie.

he sat up and patted his bed hair down, glancing around the room with his barely open eyes. when they landed on the coffee cup placed perfectly on the bedside table, they snapped open.

memories of the night before flashed back into his brain and the boy flung his legs off the bed in a panic. tossing the comforter off, the boy's face turned beet red when he noticed he jeans were gone.

what the hell? where are my pants?!

he looked around the room frantically for any sort of clue that would lead to how he ended up pantless in bed. he ran both hands through his freshly dyed blood-red hair as he tried to remember anything else.

the pearly white smile.

oh god, taeyong thought as fear flooded his veins. his eyes landed on the coffee cup and he slowly lowered his arms. the boy snatched the cheap cup off the table and scanned it quickly, searching for any sign he was drugged. instead, he found a note written in gold ink that resembled one of his paint pens. sure enough, when he glanced up he saw his gold paint pen on the table as well.

taeyong brought the cup closer to his face and squinted as he read what was written: 'you were falling asleep as you walked so i took you home. let's get a meal sometime :)'

the note didn't seem threatening, except for the offputting smiley face, but it wasn't enough to convince taeyong that he could trust the mysterious angel. he wasn't even sure if he'd dreamt up the fluffy hair and sparkling eyes until he found the note.

taking a few minutes to collect himself, taeyong fell back onto his bed and huffed. he made a mental pro and con list on whether he should go back to the coffee shop or not.

con:

i don't know him

he could be lying

he may have drugged me

he could be a murderer

pro:

he can help me remember what happened

he's pretty

after a close battle, taeyong grabbed a new pair of pants and decided to go back to shop.

•

it was already 2 in the afternoon when taeyong entered the coffee shop.

he had his mask on and hands in his pockets and he searched for the mysterious angel. it didn't take long to spot him, even with his back to the boy. taeyong caught himself staring at the man's back muscles through his black t-shirt. the angel tilted his head to the side as he stretched his neck, and taeyong pulled his gaze to the floor.

as if he felt the redhead's stares, the angel turned around and smiled when his eyes landed on the flustered boy. taeyong, who still hadn't noticed that he'd grabbed the boy's attention, rubbed the back of his neck as he started to regret his decision. why am i here? god, am i really that stupid-

before he could finish scolding himself, a pair of black boots appeared in front of him. the redhead's eyes moved past the boots and up the matching black jeans. taeyong continued lifting his gaze until he met the bright smile that belonged to the angel from the night before. upon seeing it, taeyong felt his hands get clammy as his nerves returned.

sensing the boy's nerves, the angel jumped into action and gently placed a hand on taeyong's bicep. "my break is in five minutes. wait for me? i'm assuming you aren't here for coffee." he chuckled to himself, and taeyong felt weak to his knees.

unable to come up with any words, the redhead nodded and moved towards the table he'd occupied the night before.

•

taeyong clutched the stuffed bear to his chest and sniffled.

he wasn't sure what he expecting the angel, whom taeyong learned was named seongwoo, to say when he confessed his feelings, but he wasn't prepared for it to hurt so much.

after returning to the coffee shop, seongwoo had filled the redhead about everything that happened. apparently taeyong was so tired that he almost passed out in the middle of the street. seongwoo had spotted him on his way home and safely took him home, thanks to ty mumbling the address in his sleep.

the two ended up talking until seongwoo had to get back to work. then the exchanged numbers and met up for that meal the elder promised.

when taeyong learned that seongwoo also loved video games, the two quickly shared information and played games every night until 2 in the morning. as more time passed, taeyong's feeling only deepened for his hyung. so he decided to confess.

"seongwoo hyung, are you free to grab a drink later?"

"sure, yongie."

the two boys were chatting at the nearly empty coffee shop within twenty minutes. it took the younger a while to build his courage, but when he did, his face turned serious. "hyung, i need to tell you something." upon hearing the drop in taeyong's voice, seongwoo placed his drink down and gave the boy his full attention.

"i know you don't really like small talk, so i'll just say it." the boy closed his eyes and took a deep breath, "i-i like you. more than a friend..."

he couldn't meet seongwoo's eyes after confessing, but based on the silence that surrounded them, it wasn't going to end well.

to the younger's surprise, seongwoo suddenly reached across the table and gripped his hand.

taeyong's eyes widened in shock and his head shot up. there was a soft, sad smile on the elder's face that made the redhead's heart flip.

"ty," he graved his thumb over the boy's bare hand, "you're really cute. if only we'd met earlier... things may have been different."

a girlfriend. he had a girlfriend. seongwoo had told taeyong that he was fully comfortable with his bisexuality and that he'd still want to be friends if taeyong was okay with it.

taeyong wasn't okay with it.

when he came back to the dorm with red eyes, jaehyun and winwin were there to comfort him. the redhead told them everything, and that was when he received the matted bear from sicheng.

"here, taeyong hyung. it made me feel happier when i was sad, so maybe it'll work for you too!" taeyong had only smiled and accepted the bear and hugs from his youngers.

now, he laid flat on the floor of his room-the bear placed on top of his chest as he hugged it tightly.

it was time to forget.

• • •

idk why, but i imagine seongwoo looking like kim sammy woosung from the rose.

1548 words