sicheng's signs ↠ taewin au

fourth.

taeyong.

"Goodness, Taeyong. You look so worn out," my Mom gasps to me the moment I sit down by the dining table, ever the drama queen that she is. I sigh in defeat and skulk at the egg rolls in front of me.

I may or may not have tried to cover up the dark circles under my eyes using the foundation I "borrowed" from Mom's bag. Apparently I'm not a pro at makeup and I still look hideous from the extreme lack of sleep, so I burrow my face in the palms of my hands and groan.

"Mom, tell me I look decent enough," I plead with my face still covered by my hands.

"Honey, you don't," Mom says matter-of-factly, which makes me groan even more. "What did you even do last night, Taeyong?"

"I — you know... I studied," I shrug, trying to avoid the subject. "Stuff."

"Get some more sleep, alright? It's not like you're about to attend school right now. It's summer." Mom spreads her arms and nods at the scenic view outside, thinking it would prove her point about me having the right to get lazy.

"Mom, I can't." And it's not that I literally can't go back to sleep now. It's just this morning's the perfect time to make it up to Sicheng. It would suck if I'm not on good terms with the only other person around my age. I need to redeem myself.

I start muching on the egg rolls and gulping some good, hot coffee. Mom looks at me but doesn't say anything else, which I'm quite thankful for. Dad's with Grandpa, probably going fishing somewhere, which leaves us here alone in the house. After burping and receiving a look from Mom I quickly stand up and run to the front door. I hear Mom yelling at me, asking me where I'm going, but I'm already out on the lawn. "Just gonna greet the neighbor!" I yell back.

And then I stop. Because there's that little mop of pink hair again, still facing the other way, and suddenly I lose all the confidence I've gathered up just this morning.

He won't just flat out ignore me, right?

With my heart beating hard in anxiousness, I walk around the path and towards Sicheng's lawn but stop by their sidewalk, not really crossing their property. Sicheng notices me, all awkward and nervous, and he looks surprisingly surprised. Like he doesn't really expect me to be here at all.

He's wearing a loose, dark blue shirt and some pants on, making it possible for me to see how thin his arms look. Sicheng stands up but not fully; he's awkwardly positioned by the edge of his seat while he's looking directly at me.

My arms are quivering but I loosen up a bit by shaking my hands. Then I look him straight in the eye, too.

'Can I be your friend?' I sign to him, still slow even after all those hours spent on trying to memorize everything.

After looking at my hands, his eyes shoot up to mine and he noticeably perks up. Suddenly there's this super huge smile on his face, and I believe my knees gave a bit after seeing such a sight.

'Of course.' Is what he signs back. Seeing how he's practically jumping in his spot, I could imagine him screaming in glee right now. After a moment, he quickly signs again.

'You're my first ever friend here.'

I think anyone from a mile away could hear my heart breaking, but I try my hardest not to look sad in front of him. How a boy I've just met has complete control over my emotions, I'm not exactly sure, but I'm now more than willing to make Sicheng smile like this more often.

'Everyone else leaves after knowing I'm deaf.'

He's still smiling. God. How can someone leave such a nice, innocent human like him?

'I won't.' I say, signing them slowly on purpose. When I look back to his face and see him smiling again, I know I'd keep that little promise I made for as long as I breathe.

I just know I would.

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author's notes

here's the update hahaha. thank you to those who are voting and commenting and just plainly reading this book!! please stay tuned for the next updates~ 💙