Between The Hidden World And Ours... - [YEONGYU FF]

Chapter 9

Once more, the waves gently rushed back and forth, brushing against their skin, the wind blowing through their damp hair as seagulls silently cawed at each other.

This time though, neither felt like they were on pins and needles around the other. Rather... they could feel the shared bond between their troubled souls.

"I'm sorry to hear that Yeonjun," Beomgyu finally said.

Yeonjun breathed out.

"I appreciate it."

His bangs fell over his eyes, deeply remembering his high school days.

"From then on... I promised myself to prove others wrong. That my interests are valid, and that I'm not a fool. But ever since then... I've never made friends again with someone I know personally. I'm scared of people. I'm afraid of getting hurt again and being stabbed in the back, just because I like science," he rambled.

Beomgyu looked at Yeonjun.

"I tried pushing you away, out of fear of getting hurt. And instead, all I gained was just you caring about me. I couldn't understand why, I thought I was too different from you Yeonjun."

"Beomgyu..."

He fought back tears.

"I'm sorry. But all I focus on is to prove to others that they're wrong about me. But that doesn't change the fact I was so wrong to you Yeonjun, h-how can you ever forgive me for that?"

Yeonjun smiled sadly.

"Because it's not your fault that you were afraid of me."

Beomgyu gave up fighting the tears, letting them roll down his cheeks as his eyes rimmed red. And as if Yeonjun's eyes couldn't get softer, they did.

Cautious, he took Beomgyu's cheek into his left hand, brushing some tears away with his thumb. His actions said a thousand words he couldn't have come up with on the spot, and Yeonjun felt Beomgyu's gratitude as he leaned into his touch.

"You wanna know what I did to prove people wrong?" Yeonjun eventually asked.

"What?"

A small smile formed on his lips.

"I just decided they were stupid, and jealous, for not being as unique as me. I decided to just do what I want, and not care about other people's opinions. After all... what do they matter when we just do what we love?"

That sentence hit Beomgyu hard in the heart. There was so much truth and wisdom within Yeonjun's words— his maturity astounded him.

"Besides, who knows whether our work will do something amazing for this world. If you continue to do more research on how to preserve oceans, and to discover new things in archaeology, you might change something in this world," Yeonjun continued.

Beomgyu didn't say anything for a moment, and Yeonjun didn't need him to either.

"Whenever I feel down... I try thinking about how much my work makes me happy. I try to focus on that instead of all the negative reactions and comments by others. Cuz at the end of the day, what truly matters about our research is how much we love it. Then we should worry about how the world may perceive or react to it."

Now Beomgyu truly found himself deep in thought, taking Yeonjun's advice into perspective and perception.

All this time, ever since he started his work as a professional oceanographer and archeologist, he was always set on proving others wrong.

But with Yeonjun's words in mind... he started seeing it from another way.

As he sat in the water, he thought over the times a new idea came to mind after piecing some puzzles together about marine animals, and how happy he always got after making a new discovery.

And moreover, how happy he was whenever his boss praised his work, saying that he was so creative and talented at what she was doing.

How often was I overshadowed with my determination to never let high school happen again... Was I really so stuck in the negative because of the past... that I never realized just how much I've been surrounded by positivity that has been there all this time?

"What if I can't? What if my mind holds me back? What if this positivity you speak of only stays for a little while, and then I relapse?" Beomgyu asked.

"It took me a long time to get to where I am right now. Just take it step by step, until it sticks. Never hurts to fail and try again, right?"

At that, Beomgyu couldn't help but crack a smile.

"Right."

And because it felt right, Yeonjun took Beomgyu's wrist, pulled him in, and enveloped the raven haired male into an embrace.

Beomgyu visibly stiffened, going rigid at the sudden contact— especially given they were both still naked and their bare torsos were touching.

But Yeonjun was so warm... Beomgyu couldn't help but lean into his touch, resting his head on Yeonjun's shoulder as he hugged him back.

Yeonjun chuckled.

"Who would've though my first time hugging you is when we're butt naked in the ocean water cuz the shower isn't working?"

And Beomgyu return the laugh.

Louder than expect.

"Yeah haha, what a predicament.

Yeonjun thought he was on cloud 9 hearing Beomgyu's genuine laughter for the first time, finding it the most adorable thing ever.

He needs to laugh and smile more, it'll help his wounded soul. And I will do everything to make sure he always finds a reason to be happy every day.

"We're spending a lot of time in the water," Yeonjun suddenly realized, feeling his fingers especially feel extra shrubby.

"You're right. We might wanna get out," Beomgyu remarked, letting go of the hug.

"Of course."

Yeonjun reached for his towel, but stopped midway...

"Yeonjun?"

... and looked back at Beomgyu, who shyly brushed his hair behind his ear as a small smile morphed on his face.

"Thank you... for being a friend to me."

And Yeonjun only smiled.

"Always."

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A/N: *cracks neck and knuckles* phew 😮‍💨 it took me a hella long time to actually go back and edit this damn chapter, but I thoroughly enjoyed writing the trauma bonding 😋✨ thank you for your patience guys I'll try to improve my laziness aaaa 🥲 bye ‼️