Work Text:
Beomgyu slammed the door to his bedroom shut. He pulled the handle behind him tightly as he felt his heart racing rapidly, fear pumping through his veins as he eventually calmed down enough to slide down the wall next to the door, once and for all sealing himself out of the room.
This was bad. No, it was terrible, this was the worst thing that could have possibly happened to him on a Saturday morning.
Just as he was getting ready to write out more melodies for his upcoming music project, which, by the way, was due in only two weeks time, his perfectionist self could not settle to anything other than perfect, so of course he’d gone back to his notes and had started from scratch all over again. But that had all been in vain, because now he was trapped, or, to put it a little more simply, he was barred from entering his own room because less that fifteen minutes after he’d opened up his notebook, a bumblebee had flown in through his open window, and now he was regretting every single one of his life choices that had lead him up to this point.
Beomgyu hated bugs more than anything in the world. He was, to put it lightly, a little terrified of them, and this was his worst nightmare. Just the thought of entering the room again made him feel almost physically sick, and he felt his palms sweating at the very idea.
And yes, he was a coward, he knew that very well, from being teased by his hyung, Yeonjun, for screaming like death was at his door when he’d accidentally mistaken a small dark cotton thread for a vicious spider, to when he’d been caught by Hueningkai stealing a plushie or two just so he wouldn’t be completely frozen in fear after watching some crazy insect horror movie at the maknae’s apartment last week. Yes,Beomgyu knew he was a coward, but as for this situation. Well, it would have to be the worst. He’d never be able to live this one down.
BZZZZZZ!
“Yah!”
The insistent aggressive buzzing that came from the other side of his door made him nearly jump up in fright, but he just about managed not to, and instead, buried his head in his hands and took a shaky breath. His fear of being stung by a wasp or a bumblebee wasn’t completely unwarranted.
His brother had gotten stung by one a few years ago, and though he’d been perfectly fine, the redness and swelling of the sting looked so painful that it had traumatised Beomgyu for weeks, vowing to never get close to one in his life if he could help it. Unfortunately, that hadn’t quite worked out.
Beomgyu had never been able to get rid of an insect on his own, he’d always asked Soobin to do it for him, after realizing that his oldest hyung, Yeonjun, would torment him for days, even weeks about his inability to handle a simple spider problem on his own. And honestly, he deserved it, he was an adult after all, but still, he expected sympathy!
Even Soobin, who had at first found his fear of bugs endearing, had started to tease him for it, from the little smirk on his face to the way he’d exchange looks with Kai. It was humiliating.
Inwardly cursing his friends, Beomgyu told himself time and time again that his fears were rational, but sometimes, even he could see that he was being a little ridiculous.
But one things was for sure, he’d rather face a thousand years of teasing from his friends than be stuck outside his bedroom door all day, waiting for the wretched thing to fly out of his room or curl up and die somewhere, so he ended up taking his phone out of his pocket, scrolling through the names for someone to come a rescue him, because damn, Beomgyu needed to be rescued. No way was he handling this one on his own.
And that was how, after a few minutes of looking through his contacts, feeling that his heartbeat was no longer racing through his chest, but had slowed down to at least a slow jog, he pressed on the name “Taehyunnie” and hit “call”.
Out of all his friends, if there was anyone that could handle this situation without making him feel worse that he already did, it would have to be Taehyun. He may have been younger, but he was far more rational about these kinds of things that Beomgyu would ever be, and though he may face a bit of teasing, it wouldn’t completely destroy Beomgyu’s pride, or at least, he hoped not. The younger boy’s calm demeanor was exactly what he needed right now, especially in his current panicked state, and more than that, despite being somewhat mature for his age, he was also naturally adorable, at times, and it was also this trait in Taehyun that Beomgyu found comfort in.
“Hello? Hyung, this is really not a good time...” Taehyun answered, trailing off as though he was suddenly focused on something else, and Beomgyu immediately felt his heart sinking into his stomach, but he pressed on regardless.
“Sorry. It’s just, I really need your help right now, but if you’re busy…?” Beomgyu asked tentatively, already feeling as though maybe he didn’t want anyone to know about the predicament that he’d gotten himself into, and maybe he could simply take this embarrassing incident to the grave. Nevertheless, he crossed his fingers and shifted on the hard floor outside his room, hoping that Taehyun would come through for him regardless.
“What is it exactly?” Taehyun’s voice came down the line once more, and Beomgyu could hear just a hint of curiosity. He could almost picture the younger boy frowning, and then Beomgyu could hear the not so distant sound of smashing, and then a loud yelp. His eyes widened as he heard the apologetic voice of Hueningkai, insisting that he clear up the mess that he’d supposedly had a hand in making.
“Kai? Don’t worry about it, I’ll help you fix that in a second.” Beomgyu heard Taehyun’s now muffled voice talking to Hueningkai, and then a few muffled exchanges that he couldn’t quite make out. In the background, there seemed to be an awful lot of noise.
Both Taehyun and Hueningkai worked part time at a bakery, not so far away from their college campus, most often than not, they’d be behind the counter, taking orders, but sometimes, they’d be in the kitchens making bread and cookies and pastries. Unfortunately, Kai wasn’t to be trusted around the baking equipment. The first time working in the kitchens, he’d broken the handle off of a mixer, and had never quite lived it down.
"Kai? Taehyun, what's he broken now? Let me say hi!” Beomgyu wined down the phone, forgetting why he was calling in the first place, eager to tease the maknae for a few minutes.
“You’ll just be a distraction. Now tell me what’s so important that I have to leave work to come all the way over to your flat?” Taehyun asked expectantly.
Beomgyu sighed and took a deep breath, wondering whether if he were to say this fast enough, it would save him the embarrassment, so he took a deep breath and blurted out all at once:
“There’sabumblebeeimyroomanandimkindoflockedoutandican’tdealwitimyselfsocould youpleasecomeoverandhelmeprettyplease?”
God, that was mortifying, he thought as he just about managed to get the words out, but down the line all he heard was Taehyun’s soft breathing, as though he was lost for words.
“Come again?” Taehyun said tentatively, and Beomgyu sighed and rolled his eyes. Why did the younger have to make this an even more painfully embarrassing situation than it already was?
“ My room has been taken hostage. I’m under siege. A bumblebee has entered the bedroom and I don’t know how to get it out. I need help.” Beomgyu said, now choosing to enunciate his words slowly, hating every second of this cringy explanation. When he was done there was complete silence down the line, and then, just as he was about to ask whether Taehyun was still there, all he heard was a little laugh and then:
“I’m sorry, but that’s not how being taken hostage works. And I don't think you quite understand the concept of being ‘under siege’ either.” Beomgyu felt his face reden, his feeling smarting at the younger’s observations. Trust Kang Taehyun to be a complete intellectual at the most inconvenient moments.
But that's besides the point. Beomgyu still needed his help.
“Ok, well, forget that, I’d still really appreciate it if you’d come over. You’re kind of my only hope.” Beomgyu pleased, feeling himself curl up into a tighter ball on the floor, his phone held in his hand like Taehyun’s voice was a lifeline that could save him.
There was a small pause down the line, and then the younger asked him the question that he’d been hoping he wouldn’t ask.
“Why me? Are you scared the others will tease you?”
Beomgyu could hear the amusement in Taehyun’s voice, but despite himself, he felt his mouth curve into a small smile.
“Maybe. Please come.” he said in a small voice, almost a whisper now. He knew he sounded desperate, but he didn’t care. Desperate times and all that, and thankfully, his tiny pleading seemed to work.
“Ok, ok I’ll come over. Where exactly in your apartment are you right now?” Taehyun asked curiously, and Beomgyu almost ended up tugging his own hair out with both embarrassment and frustration as he answered, hating the truth as he said:
“Outside my bedroom door. Sitting on the floor. Alone."
"So you're asking me for help because you're being bullied by a bumblebee? Is that it?" Taehyun asked skeptically. Beomgyu could almost imagine Taehyun's eyebrows shooting up into his brow.
"Don’t judge me.” Beomgyu said defensively, even though inside he was dying at the thought of the Taehyun's smug expression, and sure enough, the reply came through:
“ No, not judging exactly, just...taking that information in.” Taehyun replied, and Beomgyu let out a small sigh. God, the younger could be so blunt, but this was also exactly why he’d chosen to call him. Taehyun wouldn’t ever tease him outright- what ever judgements he had towards him, he’d keep them to himself,
But then Taehyun’s voice softened as he added:
“Look, just stay where you are. I’ll come over as soon as I can, right after clearing up the mess Kai made.”
“Yeah, what exactly happened there?” Beomgyu asked once more, curiosity taking the better of him.
“The bread dough wouldn’t come out of the mixing bowl, and now half a smashed bowl and dough is currently decorating our floor.” Taehyun said curtly, and Beomgyu struggled to muffle a laugh as the younger added, “Oh, and hyung?”
“Yes?” Beomgyu replied, feeling his heart start to beat quicker now. What if the younger were to change his mind? How was he supposed to ever get his songs written then? How was he ever going to face his bedroom without having nightmares?
“You owe me. Next time we get bingsu, it’s on you.” Taehyun said happily down the line. Beomgyu rolled his eyes at the opposite wall, but really, this was the least of his worries.
“Yes, yes, whatever you want. Now please hurry up and save me!” Beomgyu added and he heard Taehyun give a small giggle.
“Don’t worry hyung. I’m coming. See you soon.” the other boy said softly, but just as he was about to hang up, Beomgyu called out into the phone:
“Taehyunnie?”
“Yes?”
“Thank you.”
The call ended, and with that Beomgyu put his phone on the floor and rested his head against the back of the wall, closing his eyes. Help couldn’t come soon enough.
🐝🐝🐝
Ten minutes later, Beomgyu heard an insistent knocking at his front door, and he hurriedly got up off the floor and rushed to open it. True to his word, he hadn’t moved an inch since his phone call with Taehyun, but now he opened the front door to his college apartment with such force that Taehyun, who was standing on the other side took a small step back at the abruptness of it all.
In the ten minutes that it had taken for Taehyun to arrive, Beomgyu's mind had been whirling at the thought of all his prized possessions that he had in his room, and the thought of then being trapped there with such a terrifying creature. All his clothes, his his notebook for writing down song lyrics, his guitar, his laptop, the bookshelf in the far left hand corner, the fairy lights that hung suspended like multi coloured stars at night, even the stack of fashion magazines that Yeonjun had given him… all of them were stuck in his room, and he himself was too afraid to even enter the space, seething with worry and frustrating at what could happen, even though logic told him that if he were simply a little braver, he could have taken out some of his belongings until his room had been evacuated of all living bugs.
And so, it was no surprise that as soon as Beomgyu saw Taehyun standing in his doorway with a half raised eyebrow and a curious expression on his face, he immediately grabbed the younger by the shoulders and gave him a quick hug, relief sweeping through his body that the thought that help had finally arrived.
“I’m so glad you’re here.You have literally saved my life.”
Taehyun gave a small yelp as the sudden physical contact, but as Beomgyu held onto him tightly, feeling Taehyun’s soft hoodie, the younger gently patted Beomgyu on the back.
Beomgyu then let go, and then, realising that they had a resume mission to complete, he grabbed the younger by the wrist and dragged him towards this bedroom, hoping to get this sorted as quickly as possible.
“What are you doing?” Taehyun protested, but Beomgyu paid no attention as they rounded the kitchen and tiny lounge area of his apartment and down the small hallway towards his bedroom, where Beomgyu reached out and opened the door, immediately pushing the younger from behind so that he stumbled into the room with a small yelp. Taehyun looked round questioningly, but Beomgyu’s mind was going into overdrive. If Taehyun was going to get rid of the bumblebee, that was all well and good, but he himself would have no part in it. He’d stay outside where it was safe, thank you very much.
“Well, I really appreciate this, thank you.” he said, and immediately after Beomgyu yanked the door shut behind Taehyun, safe in the knowledge that outside was bug free.
“Ya! Beomgyu hyung! What are you doing? I said I’d help, but isn’t this a little extreme?” the younger called, and on the other side of the door, Beomgyu could feel and hear Taehyun slamming his hands against the door, feeling the wooden frame shudder.
God, he’d forgotten how strong the younger boy was.
“I just don’t want to be in the room while you get rid of it. I’d rather be out here. Safe, if that’s ok with you.” Beomgyu pleaded a little, although he knew that his reasoning was rather flawed.
"Hyung, you coward! " Taehyun yelled back.
"I'm not a coward! It's called self preservation!"
"Bullshit! Now open the damn door! " Taehyun shouted, and just then Beomgyu felt the door suddenly shudder once more. Infact, it very nearly opened. Oh god. Beomgyu was a goner.
And then another slam. And then another. Beomgyu tried not to allow the door to give way, but yet again another slam from Taehyun caused it to almost fly open and Beomgyu struggled to keep it closed even by tugging the handle from the outside. No way was he letting the bumblebee get out and infiltrate the rest of his apartment.
“Bees aren’t even that bad. They’re considered an endangered species, did you know that? I’m not doing the environment any favours by getting rid of it, so the very least you could do is open the door.” Taehyun said, and with that, Beomgyu felt a huge shudder from the other side of the door, and he knew that Taehyun had practically kicked the door with his foot, causing it to fly own , and for Beomgyu to stagger back, nearly hitting his back into the opposite wall that he’d been crouched down against only ten minutes earlier.
There stood Taehyun, looking mildly annoyed, but also slightly pleased with himself as he swiftly reached out his hand and grabbed Beomgyu by the wrist, and, taken by surprise, Beomgyu had no choice but to let you a yelp of shock as the younger pulled him into his own bedroom, shutting the door behind them.
As soon as they were both in, Beomgyu felt his pulse start to quicken, and his eyes darted all around the room, searching for the insect that had traumatised him for the past half hour, but so far, he couldn’t make out anything. Somehow, this made it a whole lot worse. Taehyun let go of his wrist.
“Look, I’ll help you this time, but that doesn’t mean that you can stand out there and make me do all the work. You can help me get rid of it. Deal?” the younger asked, arms folded across his chest, big dark doe eyes boring into Beomgyu’s, his expression so insistent that all Beomgyu could do was give a small nod in return, despite his brain screaming that the thought of what Taehyun was suggesting.
“You can conquer your fear by repeated exposure. I’ve seen documentaries where people who are afraid of spiders get over their fear after having to hold a tarantula for half an hour at a time. No reason why it can’t work for you too.” Taehyun said seriously, but his eyes twinkled mischievously as he explained this, and Beomgyu’s heart raced faster. He was, to say the least, a little skeptical. Surely increased exposure with the thing that was traumatising you would only make you more afraid than you already were?
But anything to get this over with, and instead he gave a little nod and let out a tiny “ok” before glancing around the room once more, sure that he hadn’t heard an buzzing for a while, and wondering if the insect had really just flown out of his still open window off its own accord.
Both boys stood still for a while, not a single sound coming from around them, and Beomgyu thought that he couldn’t take the tension any more. His palms were sweating and he felt the urge to run as far away from where he was increasing with every silent second, but then he heard a short
BZZZZZ!
“AH!”
Beomgyu let out an involuntary scream as his gaze went upwards towards the ceiling, where the bee had finally decided to show itself, flying out of the curtains and swirling downwards now, straight for his face.
How Beomgyu hated that insect. It had been in his life for less than an hour, but he'd never hated a single living thing more than this bumblebee. It was huge , almost five times the size of a regular bee, the Terminator of all bees, and it seemed to want nothing more than to traumatise him.
In that instant, all Beomgyu could think of doing was to rush towards his desk, dive under it and crouch down in a tight ball, covering his head, not caring how pathetic he looked at the moment. He screwed up his eyes as he heard a small thump of Taehyun’s footsteps, the buzzing getting more intense now, and all Beomgyu could do was to pray to the insect gods for a quick ending.
And then there was quiet.
Beomgyu kept his eyes closed, screwed up with his hands over his head, still not daring to look around.
Had Taehyun got it already? Was he finally free of this mess?
“You coward, you were supposed to get something to swat it with, not crouch there and hide!”
Taehyun’s words made Beomgyu’s heart shrivel up with shame. Yes, he knew that he was being dramatic, when was he not? So with trepidation, Beomgyu slowly opened up his eyes to see Taehyun standing over him, peering at him hiding under his desk, a small smile twitching on his lips.
“Did you get it?” he asked quietly, praying for the answer that he so desperately longed for, but to his disappointment, Taehyun shook his head, and it was then that he noticed a magazine rolled up in Taehyun’s hand.
“Hey! Those were the magazines that Yeonjun hyung gave me! You can’t use that, it’s a sacred item, the holy grail of fashion!” he said, pouting, suddenly forgetting his fear for enough seconds to reach out from his crouched position abruptly, but the younger pulled the rolled up pages of the magazine out of the way as Beomgyu went to reach for them, shaking his head and Beomgyu retreated back under the desk. No way was he leaving his shelter just yet.
“I have to use something. I swung this at it and it went behind your bookshelf, but I don’t think it’s dead.” he said, and Beomgyu reserved whatever feeling he had towards using his precious magazines as a batting stick to shudder at the thought of the thing still alive behind his bookshelves.
“Now come on, you can’t hide forever.” Taehyun added matter of factly, but Beomgyu’s pulse spiked and he shook his head determinedly. No way was he venturing out of there after the near miss only seconds ago.
Taehyun seemed to sense Beomgyu’s overwhelming reluctance to leave his refuge spot, and the younger boy crouched down so that now they were both at eye level with each other.
“Come on. It won’t hurt you. I’ll be right here.” Taehyun said softly, smiling encouragingly, and he reached out his hand for Beomgyu to grab. This sudden kind gesture immediately seemed to melt Beomgyu’s fear away, at least some of it, so, with a shaky smile, Beomgyu took his hand and allowed himself to be pulled up from under the desk.
He then turned around in fear towards his bookshelf, sitting in the far left hand corner. It suddenly looked extremely menacing, even though he could hear no audible buzzing that meant that the insect was still alive.
Then an evil humming from the bookshelves suddenly rose in the room, and suddenly the bee came right for them again, swirling round their heads and then aiming straight for their faces.
“Get it, get it!” Beomgyu shouted hysterically, all his resolve lost once more, and just at that moment, Taehyun leapt up with magazine in hand and swatted wildly in the direction on the insect, but it quickly darted out of his reach and began to wind its way through the fairy lights hanging off of Beomgyu’s bedroom ceiling. And Beomgyu, who was desperately trying to keep his shit together, ended up picking up his heavy Music Theory textbook from his desk, making it his weapon of choice, as he watched the insect fly from his lights to the curtains once more.
It stayed there, perfectly still, and both boys looked at each other in the silence, Taehyun holding out the magazine, Beomgyu with his heavy textbook, and at a little nod from Taehyun, they both quietly crept forwards, towards the bee as it sat unsuspectingly on the curtains.
Beomgyu’s palms were now so sweaty that he could barely hold the book, and he could feel his pulse drumming through his head. God this, was too much, too much for a Saturday morning, but it had to be done.
“One my count.” Taehyun whispered, and Beomgyu nodded, getting ready for the inevitable as he faced the insect, heart thudding. He could die today, or he could kill it. There was no in between.
“One.” Taehyun whispered.
They took a few steps forward..
“Two.”
The bee still hadn’t moved. Could this be the end?
Beomgyu exchanged a frightened glance at Taehyun, who gave him a reassuring nod, but just as he whispered “three” they both swung their respective weapons of choice towards the insect, to find that it had taken off with a menacing hum, and in that second, what little courage (or more accurately, blind panic mixed in with a touch of hysteria) Beomgyu had mustered had faded away completely, so that instead of of swatting at it with his considerable heavy textbook, he ended up watching in horror as the thing swirled ever upwards above their head, again towards his precious fairy lights.
Beomgyu darted behind Taehyun as the younger boy reached out and swung at it to no avail, it was too high up to reach. And just when he thought this couldn’t get any worse, Beomgyu watched in horror as Taehyun stepped up onto Beomgyu’s bed, giving the younger extra height to reach up to the ceiling where the wretched thing was still flying around, tormenting him.
Beomgyu took a split second to watch as Taehyun swung at the thing for a second time, going dangerously close to the edge of the bed, before his panic broke him out of his frozen state, and he ended up screaming:
“Taehyunnie! What are you doing?” and with that, Beomgyu also clambered onto the bed, while the other took no notice, and he attempted to drag the younger back down off the mattress, very clumsily at that with the heavy textbook in his hand. No way was he letting go of the weapon. The bee continued to buzz above their head, seemingly oblivious to the panic it was causing.
“The question that should be asked is what are you doing hyung?” Taehyun retorted, just as Beomgyu had practically wrapped his arms around the younger’s waist, attempting to pick him up off the bed and drag him to safety. Yes, he realised that this was a little too much too late, seeing as they were both already in this mess, but better late than never, right?
“Let go! I’ve almost got it!” Taehyun complained, but Beomgyu hung on fast to the younger, heart beating rapidly, as the bee swooped down towards them, and Beomgyu cowered behind Taehyun, all the while frantically shrieking "kill it!".
“I’m not a human shield, you know!” Taehyun added, but Beomgyu let out a small hysterical laugh, which quickly turned to a shriek as the insect flew down a few inches, swooping over both boy’s heads.
“These are desperate times! You’re all I’ve got!" Beomgyu yelped desperately, and in the chaos that ensued, he dropped his weapon, which he’d sworn to himself never to let go of, just as Taehyun managed to almost wriggle free of Beomgyu’s grip and leapt up from the bed, magazine in hand and swatted at the insect.
Beomgyu watched, as though in slow motion as the magazine made contact with the bee, and all seemed as though it was going to end triumphantly, until he realised in that instant that Taehyun’s hand had caught in his fairy lights.
The entire constellation of lights and wires came crashing down on top of them both, and in the chaos, both boys lost their balance, and tumbled down onto the mattress, which wouldn't have been so bad had they not been at the edge of the bed, and so they both ended up rolling onto the floor, tangled up in dozens of fairy lights. Beomgyu felt himself falling, and all he could think of doing was to grip onto Taehyun as tightly as he could, arms wrapped around the younger, hoping that he could protect him from the impact of the fall; he then shut his eyes and hoped he wouldn’t die today.
Thud!
The fall took what little breath Beomgyu had from panicking away, and his head seemed to ache a little, his eyes screwed shut, but when he opened them, all he could see was the younger boy practically lying on top of him, now a veil of lights wrapped around them both. They had both fallen, not too far thank god.
But in all that chaos, Beomgyu had never let go of Taehyun, and he suddenly became conscious of the fact that he was still holding Taehyun close to his chest, arms wrapped around him, and that the other boy’s hands were placed onto the floor, right on either sides of his head.
Taehyun lifted himself off of Beomgyu a little, so that they were both simply staring down at each other. His own shocked feelings were reflected back at him in Taehyun’s face, and in the silence, Beomgyu saw the younger’s deep dark doe eyes, staring back at him, like little chocolate galaxies, his black hair, glinting in the sunlight coming in through the window, his cherry lips, twitching in a little half smile. Theirnfaces were inches apart, noses almost touching, and suddenly, the close proximity was making Beomgyu blush, feeling the heat creep up his neck, and he suddenly felt awkward.
He blinked and shook his head a little, raising his eyes from where they had lingered on Taehyun’s lips to look back at his eyes.
“Are you ok? Are you hurt?” He asked the younger, but the younger shook his head no.
Beomgyu let out a little sigh of relief, and then:
“What about you? You’re the one who hit the floor.” Taehyun asked, concerned, but Beomgyu could barely feel the ache in the back of his head anymore. They hadn’t fallen more than four feet from the bed.
“No, I’m good.”
They then both stared at each other for a few seconds longer before Taehyun let out that little laugh that he always did, his eyes crinkling into two shining crescent moons, and Beomgyu felt his own awkwardness melt away as he gently shook his head and sat up, lightly pushing the younger off of him.
“I think we got him.” Beomgyu finally said, as he started to untangle both of them from the fairy lights, letting Taehyun pick some out of his hair, but the younger shook his head, giving Beomgyu a raised eyebrow.
“What do you mean, we ? I got it. And speaking of that, where exactly is it?”
Beomgyu's heart froze, the other’s words sending a shiver down his spine as he looked around, still sitting on the floor with the fairy lights in between them, and he glanced around, eyes scanning to room for sight of the supposedly dead insect.
It was dead….right?
And then-
Bzzzz!
“Yah!”
This time, it wasn’t just Beomgyu’s yelp that was heard, both boys were taken by surprise as the horrid thing suddenly swirled up around their heads from seemingly nowhere, and settled on the wall opposite them, sitting innocently as though it had no idea how much stress it had caused in one morning.
Both boys looked at each other, and Taehyun gave a small apologetic look, but Beomgyu wasn’t going to let his fear get in the way anymore.
Beomgyu had finally resolved to do the thing that he’d sworn to himself that he’d never do: get rid of an insect. On his own.
He got up and saw the Music Theory textbook, lying there on his bed from where he’d dropped it earlier. With his heart thumping in his chest, he picked it up and determinedly looked around. The thing was still there, sitting against the wall.
Beomgyu had never hated anything more than insects, but this time, he wasn’t going to let one ruin his day. And so, he launched the book through the air in one arched throw, and he smiled as the book hit the wall with a satisfying thump , the bee firmly wedged between it and the wall.
As the book fell to the ground, all he could see was a small dark splatter of dead bumblebee. The Terminator was dead.
It was over.
Beomgyu took one moment to shudder at the thought of cleaning the mess of insect guts up, but then quickly pushed it to the side as he saw Taehyun stand up, an almost proud expression on his face.
“Whoooo!” the younger said in tiny, waving his fists, and then giving him a small thumbs up, making him feel prouder than he should have done given the circumstances. But still, how could he not smile at Taehyun’s cute cheers?
“See? Not that hard, right?” Taehyun asked.
“Of course not.” Beomgyu replied, feeling rather pleased with himself.
“Well then, I guess you’ll be dealing with your own bug infestations next time, right hyung?” Taehyun asked, a hint of mischievousness in his eyes, but Beomgyu paled at this thought, refusing to take the bait.
“No way, never again!” he said, narrowing his eyes playfully, but then he added, more seriously now: “I think I’d need your help if this ever happened again. I wouldn’t have even been able to walk into the room without you. I mean, if you're not busy...” Beomgyu trailed off, and then he felt himself blushing, and he put his hands into his pockets awkwardly as he looked back at the younger boy, who was staring at him with dark eyes.
Honestly, it would have been no surprise to Beomgyu if Taehyun said he’d never want to help with this sort of situation ever again. Beomgyu realised he’d been dramatic, painfully so, and honestly, he owed the younger boy, big time.
But then Taehyun’s face broke into a smile, and Beomgyu’s nervous heart stopped racing.
“Oh for goodness sake, of course I don’t mind.” Taehyun said, and to Beomgyu's surprise, the younger boy suddenly reached out and took Beomgyu's hand in his, and then stepped forwards on tiptoes to plant the lightest of kisses on Beomgyu's cheek before stepping back once more, and letting go of his hand, which swung back to Beomgyu's side awkwardly.
Beomgyu blinked in surprise, feeling his cheeks flush, but he wasn't the only one who was looking slightly embarrassed; a faint blush crept up Taehyun’s own cheeks too.
For some reason, this made his own mouth twitch into a smile, and a warm fuzzy feeling spread through his chest.
What was wrong with him? Something had changed. God, this was weird. The air seemed different, a new, sweet sort of tension, like the anticipation before the fireworks.
"What was that for?"
Taehyun shrugged, not quite meeting Beomgyu's eyes.
"For facing your fears. For being brave I guess." Taehyun said, and Beomgyu's heart practically soared into the sky at this.
Taehyun thought he'd been brave.
"And it was pretty entertaining watching you get bullied by a bumblebee- you did look quite ridiculous." Taehyun added slyly.
"I thought you said I was brave?" Beomgyu exclaimed, pouting, and Taehyun's mouth twitched into a smile.
"You were. Doesn't mean you looked cool doing it though."
"What do you mean? I'll have you know I'm very cool, thank you very much." Beomgyu huffed, pretending to be offended and giving Taehyun a gentle shove, and Taehyun giggled, shoving him right back. That was a pretty big compliment coming from Taehyun, and he'd take it, along with this fresh wave of new feelings that had been simmering below the surface, but had decided to show up just then, when Taehyun had called him brave, when Taehyun had kissed Beomgyu on the cheek.
But Beomgyu wasn’t going to think about that too much, at least not, for now. He’d sort out his feelings later on, but for the time being, he could focus on the present, and the present was bug free, and very much full of witty comebacks, and shining dark brown eyes, and that was enough, at least for now.