Between Pastries & Binary Codes | CaptainxTae

♡ 1. ♡

He had bought his favorite food, Som Tam, hoping to have lunch with him and talk things out.

The door opened with the usual characteristic ding of a bell and Tae paused as he scanned the room- his face fell when he spotted Captain in one of the more secluded tables in the back of the establishment, chatting, laughing and being glued to a man he's never seen before.

They were having a very animated conversation. Tae was sure he heard his heart crack the moment Cap's infectious laughter echoed through the room.

It wasn't the laugh he was broken about, it was the fact that it became a product of someone else's doing. He seemed genuinely happy and enjoying his time with this person.

Tae felt a mix of emotions swirling in his heart. On one hand, he was glad his friend seemed happy and hadn't lost his joyous demeanor, but on the other hand, his chest ached in a way it never had before.

What was happening to him? This surely isn't normal..

I should be happy for him. But why does it hurt so much to see him show that genuine, bright smile to someone else?

He was torn. He could go up to him and ask to talk and clear the air between them, or he can just let him be and not disturb such a moment for him. Captain hadn't seen him yet, he could just slip out and run to his car.

In the end, he decided against interrupting them- quickly leaving the food in Jay's hands and asking him to give it to Cap instead.

Jay looked at him with a puzzled expression.

"Tae are you sure you don't want me to call him over?" Jay asked.

"No, No, it's okay. I don't want to interrupt whatever's going on over there." he pointed towards the table with his head and Jay grew a knowing smirk before relaying some information Tae did not need to hear.

"That's Pah, a friend from his hometown. They hadn't seen each other in years, seems like they're rekindling their "friendship" again." He put the word friendship in air quotes on purpose.

"Friendship?" he asked.

"Yeah.. you know, Cap's first love? That's him."

Tae felt like his knees might buckle at the sudden influx of information..

His first love? That's the man he was so hung up on for years?

Tae had never met Pah, he's only heard Captain mention him once accidentally. They knew each other before their friendship, and Cap never liked talking about his exes.

The only thing Tae knew was that Pah left him because they were both boys and he couldn't deal with the consequences of being openly queer.

Tae himself is bisexual so he knows exactly what that means. Maybe even more so, as bi people are heavily scrutinized, even within the lgbtq+ community.

Most of the time he found himself wishing he could only fall for women, because it'd be easier on both of them. There wouldn't be as much heartbreak and hate thrown at them when their relationship was out for the public to see.

But Tae, more often than not, seemed to be gravitating towards men.

He's only ever had feelings for one girl, Bamhee. And that was a fleeting relationship because apparently, she was only into women and by the time she realized, it wasn't fair to keep dragging Tae along.

Over the years, he came to notice many things about his friend. His gorgeous deep amber eyes that twinkled like fairy lights when he was excited about something, the pretty smile that always decorated his face. His infectious laughter that seemed to instantly lift your mood no matter the occasion.