Dominoes | Tyunning

bandaids

After the beetle incident occurred, Taehyun and Huening Kai found themselves not crossing paths for a while, mainly due to them both being bombarded by deadlines and end of semester exams. Huening Kai relished in the fact that the time spent away from Taehyun was providing him with the opportunity to sort out his steady growing feelings of affection for his best friend, at least that’s what he thought until Taehyun texted him on a Thursday afternoon, inviting him to come over for a Christmas dinner the very next night. 

He arrived at Taehyun’s house embraced in a long, dark green coat and leather boots, the latter being a gift from Yeonjun. “I’m helping you up your fashion game,” the older boy had told him once Kai had tried the boots on for the first time. Huening Kai had accepted the gift gratefully because yes, Yeonjun’s taste in clothes was unbeatable and recently he had decided that his closet could use a few adjustments. And if the reason being was due to the fact that he wanted to impress a certain friend of his, well no one else had to know that.

Taehyun greeted him with an illuminating smile, and escorted him to where the rest of their friends were, crowded around Taehyun’s dining table.

“You’re late,” Yeonjun stated matter-of-factly.

“You guys are just too early.”

Taehyun watched from the safety of his kitchen as Kai waddled over to join their friends, who were submerged in figuring out how to fly a drone Soobin had brought over after receiving it as an early Christmas gift from his cousin. It was obvious they didn’t know what they were doing. Taehyun busied himself in preparing dinner, taking out the ingredients and turning the oven on to a suitable temperature. Whenever his friends were doing something that seemed even the littlest bit out of the ordinary, Taehyun decided he didn’t want to get involved, afraid of the mess that may result. His parents were out visiting family that weekend, and Taehyun hoped they wouldn't come home to a smashed tv screen.

He pulled out the recipe from his phone, then furrowed his eyebrows upon realising that he forgot to buy the milk when he ran into the store that morning. He sighed, he had really looked forward to baking the cookies all day. He peeked a glance at his friends again, they seemed pretty occupied, surely it wouldn’t hurt to run out quickly to grab a bottle of milk. Plus, now that he thought about it, the eggs in his fridge were nearly over and he was also craving potato chips. 

He prayed he wouldn’t come back to his house engulfed in flames.

“Um guys, I’m gonna go out to the convenience store and buy some milk quickly.”

The others waved at him absentmindedly and uttered small goodbyes, Huening Kai however, was the only one who shot his head up, locking eyes with Taehyun.

“Do you need us to do anything while you’re gone, Hyun?”

Now that he mentioned it, the onions and carrots needed slicing. It would be an efficient way to save time, considering the fact that it was already 7 pm. He stepped out into the chilly air after instructing Kai on his task, and allowed the cool breeze flowing past him to envelope his form. He walked into the store, hurriedly gathering the needed items before making a beeline for the front register.

“Just these?” The cashier asked him.

“Yup,” Taehyun answered as he dug into his jeans for his wallet, only for his fingers to brush against his phone. He checked his other pocket, “Sorry, I think I left my wallet at home. I’ll be back quickly,” he said apologetically as he placed the items back and rushed back home.

“Guys, I’m back, Huening how’s the slicing goin- Kai what happened?”

Kai looked up meekly from where he sat hunched over a chair in Taehyun’s living room, their friends gathered around him. Beomgyu was hugging him while Soobin ran his fingers tenderly through his hair.