what a cute picture ! wow that's totally random a totally weird picture not a hint at all !
anyways. a couple of notes:
- first of all happy Valentine's Day !! in this world and ours :)
- this chapter and the one after (22 all parts & 23) are so insanely long like i'm so sorry just prepare yourself. but it's the v day party and a LOT happens sooo
- i'm also splitting chapter 22 into 3 parts, sort of like a party has different hours of the night yeah yeah yeah it's like that. (but all parts of 22 will be uploaded today still.)
Despite the events of the day before, Taehyun found himself actually pretty excited for the night ahead. Probably just because it gave him and Beomgyu an excuse to get ready together, seeing as each one needed to dress like the other's least favorite person.
He was sitting on his floor, Kai having already gone to help Yeonjun set up for the party. All of his makeup was spread out, because he had no idea what to do to turn the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen into his stupid fucking dad.
When he heard the knock, he jumped up and swung the door open before he had time to be embarrassed at his own eagerness.
"He-!...Holy shit."
He was staring at a now red haired Beomgyu. His long hair was gone, and the boy had dyed his hair a tomato color. Taehyun didn't know what to do with himself.
(A.N// neither did i when we lost Beomgyu's long hair...<///3)
Beomgyu's touched his head and laughed. "Do you like it? I was trying to do the cliché fire-hot-head thing. Maybe it's not doing that?"
"I...."
Did Taehyun like it? He was so smitten he felt like he's going to faint.
"Yes. I...yeah. It's good. I like it."
Mentally slapping himself, he stepped aside and let a very satisfied Beomgyu into the room. They both sat, and Taehyun started on Beomgyu's makeup, admittedly winging it completely. It was quiet, but no part of the silence was uncomfortable.
"So," Beomgyu started, smirking. "Who do you wanna bet is going to kill Yeonjun and Kai first?" Both laughed, and Taehyun thought about it. "It depends. I was trying to think of a bet for who this dumbass plan actually works for first. I'm torn between Minsung and Hyunbin."
Beomgyu gaped at him. "Tell me you did not just make those up."
Taehyun laughed, and shook his head. "Kai won't shut up about how smart he and Yeonjun are for this idea. In the process, he's called each pair a...ship name." Taehyun pretended to shudder, to Beomgyu's amusement, and moved from face makeup to eyes.
He didn't take long on face makeup, as he wanted Beomgyu's perfect fucking features to stay the exact same.
"Well..." the other started, smirking again, "Then I guess Taegyu already wins."
Taehyun froze, then burst out laughing. "Well, sure. But that wasn't because of them. So I'm not letting Kai have that."
The other agreed, just in time for Taehyun to finish his look. He'd gone for more subtlety, because selfishly he still wanted his date to look like Beomgyu. He'd decided to do red and orange flames on his face to match the hair, and left out any blue so that the boy bore no resemblance to his father. Sitting back, he was pleased with his work.
"I'm done, your highness of the deceased."
Beomgyu rolled his eyes at Taehyun's bow. "Yeah, yeah. My turn 'Ace of Gods.'"
He pushed Taehyun to sit up against the wall and pulled out the things he brought.
He started on the eyes, skipping his face entirely. Taehyun tried not to let his dumb smile ruin the process.
"I don't think it was a bad idea," Beomgyu started, and Taehyun was hanging onto every word to avoid staring at how close their lips were while he worked.
"I definitely think it'll help.... certain situations. An understanding of some kind."
"You can say Jisung and Minho, it's okay," Taehyun smirked, making the other boy laugh. "Don't mess me up!" he chidded. "But okay, yes."
He noticed Beomgyu's hesitation. "I just don't know why they paired us. I would understand if they were just being annoying about getting us... together," They hadn't exactly defined their relationship yet.
"...But then Kai said that thing about all the pairs being instilled in The Fates? I just don't understand."
Taehyun tried to keep his breathing even. This was his only hesitation about getting ready with the other. He knew Beomgyu would have questions about their "enemy" status, and he really didn't want to answer them. But he didn't want to lie, either.
"He said there was some future stuff," Taehyun said, trying to have a steady voice. "Maybe there's something in the future." There is.
Then, less serious, "Maybe I kill your firstborn or something, and then you hate me."
Beomgyu laughed, and he felt relieved. But he couldn't help the twist of his heart at the fact that whoever lost, wouldn't ever see the other's firstborn.
Beomgyu pulled back. "Done! Come look."
He pulled the boy to his own bathroom, and Taehyun stopped short when he was standing in front of the mirror.
Staring back at him was his own reflection, but as an artist. Like, a real artist. Brown smock and everything. Beomgyu's made his eyes have a variety of colors around them, so as to make his face look like a painter's palette. There was a paintbrush in the pocket of his smock, which Beomgyu made him wear over a white button-down and black pants.
"Wh....Beomgyu this is..." Beomgyu's smiled at him in the mirror. "Do you like it?"
Like it? He could cry.
"I love it. Really. But... this isn't Apollo."
Beomgyu shrugged. "If your dumbass can let Apollo's supposed painter status stop you from doing what you wanna do, then my dumbass can dress you like one."
He laughed at the boy's logic, which technically made sense seeing as the first thought he'd had was that Apollo wasn't a painter.
He turned and smiled at the red haired boy behind him. "Fine, you win. We're sort of late, so it's artist Apollo tonight."
Beomgyu nodded and they both headed for the door. "Wait!"
He stopped the boy and glanced at his all-black outfit. The red hair and makeup were good, but it was missing...
"It's missing something," he said, and grabbed his favorite jacket.
The other shrugged it on, and Taehyun willed his stupid mouth to keep from grinning.
"Perfect. Let's go, enemy."
Beomgyu laughed and rolled his eyes fondly.
"Yeah, okay. After you, lover."
Taehyun almost tripped on the way out.
——
"Titan, I wish you'd chosen the music," Taehyun shouted over the party noise. "Whatever frat-bro EDM stan made this playlist is getting sent to live with my dad."
Beomgyu laughed loudly over the noise and nodded in agreement. "I've been trying to give them the benefit of the doubt, but I swear some of these came straight out of a suburban mom's cycling class."
Taehyun doubled over, only to stop and sigh when he saw Yeonjun and Kai bounce over to the two of them.
"Getting along I see?" Kai smirked while wiggling his eyebrows.
Beomgyu snorted. "Yes, Kai. Thank God you two made a party based on pure awkwardness so that Taehyun and I could find mutual joy in the shitty music."
Yeonjun rolled his eyes, then frowned. "It is really bad. The music." He glanced over at the speaker system and saw Jackson Wang with his phone plugged in.
(A.N// i had to keep up the tradition.)
"Ah. That explains it. Can you fix it?" he asked Beomgyu, who threw his arms up.
"Why is everyone assuming I have great music taste? I can play instruments. It's not the same at all. Surely you guys have something to work with."
Yeonjun said "Taylor Swift", at the same moment that Kai stated "One Direction", both alongside Taehyun's "Cigarettes After Sex."
Beomgyu stared at the three of them. "Jesus. Maybe I am the only hope."
"You know, you need to start using our language and phrases if you're gonna benefit from our parties."
Even with the heavy sarcasm dripping in his voice, Beomgyu still gave Taehyun a shove.
"I will never say 'Oh my Titan', and you can count on that."
The others laughed, while he sighed and brought up the "Enemies to Lovers" playlist he had on Spotify. He would never admit it to the others, he just had a very particular favorite romance genre.
@bgyu's 'Enemies to Lovers😩' on Spotify:
Alrighty Aphrodite by Peach Pit
505 by Arctic Monkeys
Toxic by Britney Spears
Teeth by 5 Seconds of Summer
All I Want by Paramore
Prisoner by the Weeknd ft. Lana del Ray
Still into You by Paramore
PILLOWTALK by ZAYN
I Wanna Be Yours by Arctic Monkeys
He walked over to Jackson Wang, and the other was more than happy to give up rights to the aux. It seemed to Beomgyu like he was starting to become self aware.
He plugged his phone in, and walked back over while 'Alrighty Aphrodite' started playing. He smirked and shrugged at Yeonjun's eyeroll.
"You should've had music ready. Isn't this party your guys' entire glory for the year?" Taehyun asked, subtly tapping his foot to the music. Beomgyu didn't think he noticed himself doing it, but he smiled at the action nonetheless.
"Okay, we didn't plan out every single detail. The main goal was to get certain friends together," Kai stated.
"So maybe you should commit to that goal and leave us alone? To, you know, understand each other?" Taehyun turned to Beomgyu. "Do you wanna go to the back porch to help them with their project?"
Beomgyu knew he meant it innocently, but a blush still crept at the back of his neck.
"Yeah, sure," he managed to get out, but mentally cursed at himself for how thin his voice sounded.
"Yeah, yeah whatever. So ungrateful." Beomgyu heard Kai mutter something about pairing them up with a cyclops, but he and Taehyun were soon out of earshot.
They climbed up the stairs and to the back porch of the second floor, which had a drink cart of its own. He could hear faint vibrations of '505' starting to play, but otherwise they were entirely alone.
It made Beomgyu uncharacteristically nervous, at least considering they'd been alone so many times before. He sat down on a rocking chair wringing his hands, then got back up and poured himself a drink. Taehyun appeared next to him to do the same, making it hard for Beomgyu not to scream.
He noticed the faint yet familiar smell of vanilla and firewood, an observation that also made it hard not to scream.
Maybe Taehyun's father sometimes made sense. It was gonna be a Hell of a night.
He sat back down and Taehyun followed suit, picking a chair right next to his and swirling his cup in a calm manner. Beomgyu was envious of his nonchalant attitude, as at the moment he was trying to avoid counting the freckles on Taehyun's neck.
The other spoke first. "I've never been much of a partier, sorry. We can go back downstairs if you want." It must've been the slight nerves in Taehyun's voice that caused Beomgyu to vigorously shake his head. "I hate parties. This is perfect."
Taehyun smiled at him, and to avoid melting to the floor, Beomgyu blurted the first thing that came to mind.
"Tell me a story."
Embarrassed and finding the urge to explain, he rambled pitifully. "I was never a kid who knew how to shut up-" He hit Taehyun lightly on the shoulder when he sensed the other's smirk. "No, I haven't grown out of it, smartass. Anyway, the only thing that worked to keep me entertained was my...adoptive mom telling me stories. Usually stupid little fairytales, but...yeah."
Taehyun simply looked at him with a soft smile on his face. Beomgyu watched as the boy thought for a second, then asked: "Have you ever heard the story of Pandora's Box?"
When Beomgyu shook his head, he feigned shock. "You go to Pandora academy and you don't know its origin?! Shame on you!"
"Shut up," Beomgyu laughed, pushing the other lightly. "I know nothing, remember? Just tell me."
When he stopped laughing, Taehyun started.
A/N: random dual POV switch because i'm inconsistent.
"Well, our school was named Pandora Academy to 'represent the idea that students should hold onto the hope that they can learn to either follow, or fix, the legacy of their parents.'"
He added quotation marks, accompanied by a mocking voice to sound more professional. It was worth it, because Beomgyu laughed beside him.
"Well, the story of Pandora's Box inspired that motto. It begins with Zeus."
Beomgyu groaned.
"Yeah," Taehyun agreed. "It's bad. Anyways..Prometheus and his brother Epimetheus were Titans, but pledged their loyalty to Zeus and the Olympians since Prometheus was born with the special power of prophecy and knew that Zeus would defeat the Titans."
"So she was literally just lucky? That doesn't seem fair! I wish I had a prophecy, would make my life so much easier," he grumbled.
Taehyun laughed, assuming the son of Apollo was joking about wanting the prophecy. But it suddenly settled for him that Beomgyu was being sincere. He remained silent, playing nervously with his ring.
The boy beside him truly knew nothing, the guilt of which consumed him more and more every day.
"Zeus rewarded Prometheus and Epimetheus for their loyalty and gave them the job of creating the first creatures to live on Earth. Epimetheus formed the animals and gave each a special skill and form of protection. Prometheus made man, but was left with no forms of protection since Epimetheus had already given them all away."
Beomgyu frowned. "Isn't this just Adam and Eve with extra steps?"
It was Taehyun's turn to frown. "Who?"
Beomgyu shook his head. "Nevermind. Continue."
He wouldn't say it out loud for fear of being a total weirdo, but he loved hearing Taehyun's voice for the sake of hearing it. Especially right now. Taehyun had set into a certain mood that made it seem like he secretly loved being a storyteller, a note Beomgyu would definitely keep in mind.
Taehyun cleared his throat. "Thank you. Anyway, Prometheus knew that man needed some form of protection and asked Zeus if he could let man have fire. Zeus refused, because he was a stingy bitch and fire was only for the gods."
"Seungmin would never," Beomgyu scoffed, earning a laugh from the boy next to him.
"Prometheus ignored Zeus and gave man fire anyway."
"Slayed!" Beomgyu stated. Then, "Sorry. Go on."
"Prometheus was punished, and Zeus tied him with chains to a rock far away in the Caucasus Mountains where nobody would find him. Every day Zeus sent an eagle to eat Prometheus' liver, which grew back every day so that Prometheus would have to endure this torture daily."
Beomgyu blanched, feeling awful for Prometheus. "Oh my God."
"...until Heracles found Prometheus and killed the eagle and let Prometheus go."
"Sorry, but... I haven't heard anything about Pandora Music Station or a box, and I would like to leave this porch before I graduate."
"Then stop interrupting," Taehyun swatted at the laughing Beomgyu, but couldn't really find himself to be frustrated when the boy was smiling like that.
"Zeus, being a petty bitch, wanted humans to be punished for accepting the gift of fire from Prometheus. So, to punish man, Zeus created a woman named Pandora. She was molded to look like the beautiful goddess Aphrodite."
"Yeonjun literally has the milf for a mom. I need to remember that for later."
"She received a bunch of gifts of beauty and kindness from the gods, and Zeus brought her to earth to be Epimetheus' wife. And even though Epimetheus' brother, Prometheus, had literally warned him about Zeus and told him not to accept gifts from the gods, Epimetheus was too stupid because she was hot and wanted to marry her anyway."
"Uh oh," Beomgyu stated, and Taehyun nodded before continuing. "As a wedding present, Zeus gave Pandora a box, but warned her never to open it. Nowadays, it would be a jar. But everyone was drunk 24/7 then, so it was called a box."
"Geonbae!" Beomgyu shouted before taking another swig.
"Pandora was overly curious and couldn't stay away from the box and the urge to open the box overcame her. Horrible things flew out of the box including greed, envy, hatred, pain, disease, hunger, poverty, war, and death. All of life's miseries had been let out into the world."
Beomgyu groaned. "Dumb bitch, oh my god."
Taehyun grinned, thrilled with the other's investment in the story. "She slammed the lid of the box down, but by then most of the contents had been released."
He paused for a snide comment, but Beomgyu had fallen silent and was staring intensely at him, so he continued nervously.
"The last thing remaining inside of the box was hope. Ever since, humans have been able to hold on to this hope, in order to survive the wickedness that Pandora had let out. The end!"
Beomgyu thought for a moment. "Hm... So, Basically it's an origin for the baseless hope that humans stake their lives on?"
Taehyun scoffed. "Hope is not baseless. The story is supposed to represent that, even when you have nothing to turn to, there's still hope. It's my favorite story, by the way, so watch it," he added with annoyance.
Beomgy started giggling, then fully outright laughing.
Taheyun, glaring, asked "What is so funny?"
He collected himself. "I'm sorry, it's just...You're so pessimistic all the time. Your favorite story being about hope? I just like irony, is all."
Taehyun glared at him still, though made no effort to hide the fond smile that accompanied it. "It's not about hope...at least not entirely. It's a warning about temptation."
The other frowned at him, confused. "Except...she only discovered hope through temptation." He then smiled goofily. "I guess you could say...if she never fucked around, she never would've found out." He laughed as the other shoved him, rolling his eyes.
Taehyun tried to hide his surprise at Beomgyu's interpretation. Truthfully, it was one he admired. But he would never admit it to the other.
"Yeah alright then, genius. Then you tell the story next time."
Beomgyu shook his head, sincere. "I like hearing your stories."
The two looked at each other, and Taehyun found himself leaning in without thinking. "Yeah?"
Beomgyu's breath caught in his throat. Then, while leaning in too, he nodded.
The two connected, and Taehyun thanked the gods that nothing interrupted them this time. He'd only done it once, so he'd forgotten how much he liked kissing the other. He placed his hands under the boy's chin, and heard him sigh.
A knock at the sliding door jolted them both apart, and Kai walked out.
"Oh, no. Again? I promise it's not on purpose."
Taehyun simply glared, but loosened it when Beomgyu laughed beside him.
"Yeah, okay. If you're jealous just say it,'' Beomgyu joked.
Kai pretended to vomit, then turned to his best friend. "I need your help with something. Some assholes are being jerks to a couple of A Warriors, and I need your scary presence to ward them off. Also, I'm bored. And your guys' part of the mission is clearly accomplished."
Taehyun glanced at Beomgyu, who nodded. He sighed and joined his friend.
"I'll be back. If he keeps me longer than an hour, I'll commit murder."
Beomgyu's satisfied laugh aided his comfort in leaving the porch.
—
Han Jisung knew that this party was going to be bad, but good fucking Titan. He had never wanted to be able to drown himself more.
He was sitting on the main staircase, trying with everything in him to avoid his so-called "date."
He assumed Minho was equally annoyed at their situation, as the other had no luck finding him yet. It was embarrassing to unblock his former best friend, but it was worth it to get the other to agree that they would meet at the party, not before.
It was weird that the other responded with If that's what you want.
But Han didn't let himself think too much about it.
For now, he was completely content with sitting alone and watching Jeongin and Seungmin act suspiciously close throughout the night. There was no sign of Medusa's son anywhere.
Until, of course, he had that thought. Cursing his luck, he spotted the boy making his way towards the steps, having finally spotted him.
After the most awkward eye contact exchange in his life, Jisung deflated as he watched the other walk up to where he was sitting. He really didn't have the energy for an argument right now.
Minho sat cautiously beside him, and glanced at Han's puzzled expression.
"I've been looking for you everywhere."
He said it so nonchalantly that Jisung thought he imagined it. He tried to think of an answer.
"I've been here."
Even more to his surprise, Minho laughed softly. What was happening?
"Yeah, I see that. Thanks."
It's not that they hadn't been sarcastic with each other before. Hell, they'd practically lived off of it. Both in friendship and in hatred.
But that was just it. It wasn't sarcasm accompanied by the usual scowl. At the moment, Jisung could only find a soft smile painted on the other boy's face. It was more than he could take.
"Yeah, well. I hate to do this. But I'm really not feeling great, and I think I'm gonna head out as long as Yeonjun and Kai don't notice. Hope you can find another date to entertain you."
He got up and left through the front entrance, but before he could pass the yard he was grabbed by someone.
"You don't feel well? What's wrong?"
It was too much. The concerned tone, the worried eyes, it was so unlike him.
Or rather, it was too much like the old him. Jisung couldn't take it any longer.
"Minho, can we please not fucking do this?"
The other frowned. "Do what?"
Han scoffed. "The whole, fake-nice act. I get that you're going along with the theme, and maybe finding out my mom was killed changed something for you. But it doesn't matter. It still isn't natural for us to be friends anymore."
"Actually, it always was natural. We've just been fucking idiots."
Jisung told his thoughts to shut up, but then realized it wasn't his mind speaking at all. It was the boy still holding onto his arm.
"W...what?"
He watched Minho sigh. "I won't say that hearing...about your mom didn't change anything. It definitely did. But if anything, it woke me up. It made me realize what a complete and total dick I've been. So this is my failed attempt at trying to fix that."
Jisung just stared at him. Had he eaten one of Jackson Wang's brownies? There was no way this was happening right now.
"I'm lost."
Minho laughed without emotion. "I don't blame you. I just...I want us to be better. I want to be better to you."
"M-Minho... I don't..."
He tried to explain, but stopped when he saw how the boy was looking at him.
Minho had never looked at Jisung like that before in his life, and it made his entire body glow with warmth.
"I want us to be friends again. Best friends, even. I don't want you to be alone through this the way that I was."
A part of Jisung stung at how quiet the last part was, but the greater pain came from the other things said. He found himself shaking his head vigorously.
"We...we can't" I can't.
"We can't be friends again." I can't be just your friend again.
"I don't want us to be friends."
I want to be more than that. I'm hopelessly in love with you against all better judgment.
The hurt in Minho's eyes got to him most of all, but the other simply nodded in understanding. "Okay. I get it. I'll leave you alone."
Han wished the other hadn't caught him so off guard, because he might've had the strength in his legs to chase after him and explain.
But all he had the strength to do was watch the other head back to the party, and wonder what the fuck had just happened.
—
"Oh my Titan."
Yeonjun shook his head as Beomgyu explained Kai's earlier antics. "That boy is walking within an inch of his life every day."
Beomgyu laughed and shrugged. "He seems pretty pleased with us being together though. I'm a little worried that I'm stealing his best friend."
Yeonjun shook his head. "Don't be. This entire party happened because he wanted Taehyun to admit his feelings for you."
Beomgyu tried to disguise his shock. "Speaking of, have you heard any other success stories of your 'brilliant' plan yet?"
The other narrowed his eyes. "It is brilliant." He shrugged. "The night is young, and my matchmaking skills never fail me."
"Uh, yeah. Except for when it comes to yourself," Beomgyu pointed out. He knew it didn't bother the other, who had expressed nothing but disgust at the idea of his own partner.
Yeonjun shrugged. "What can I say? I know too much about love to want it for myself."
Beomgyu felt a pair of hands touch his shoulders and almost threw his drink onto Yeonjun's head.
"Holy shit," he gasped, clutching his chest.
"Sorry! Sorry, Beomgyu. Titan, I didn't mean to scare you."
"Soobin! What the hell?! What are you doing here?"
He hugged the other, who had easily become one of his favorite people on campus.
Soobin shrugged. "My mom got mad that I was sacrificing my social life, says I shouldn't let other people's greed affect me as much. So, she's making me come to this." He made a sour face at the detail about his mother, and Beomgyu laughed.
He was too excited and distracted to notice how uncharacteristically quiet the pink-haired boy behind him had gotten.
"Well, I'm glad you're here. Can I get you something? A beer? Punch? Weed?" He whispered the last part, and Soobin laughed. "No, no, I'll get something myself. We'll see what I choose. I'll be back."
He winked before walking off.
Beomgyu was still laughing when he turned back around. "Anyway, why wouldn't you-"
He paused at Yeonjuns expression, which had gone frozen. His eyes were glazed over as if Beomgyu had started singing. He frowned. "Uh...Yeonjun?"
"Who."
The boy's voice was very different, and paper thin. Beomgyu's frown deepened. "Who what?"
"BEOMGYU," he pleaded, now gripping the boy's arm. It was starting to freak him out.
"Who was that?"
Beomgyu relaxed. "Oh, Soobin? That's my roommate. I guess you guys haven't met, ha! That's weird to think about."
Yeonjun fell forward, to where Beomgyu had to grab him by the arms to keep him upright.
"Uh, woah. Yeonjun? Hey...Yeonjun." He waved a hand in front of the other's face, but then noticed that Yeonjun's body was glowing.
As in, actually glowing. Fluorescent pink waves were bouncing off of his skin.
The boy's eyes went back to normal, and he looked just as shaken as Beomgyu felt. "Yeonjun. What's going on?"
The response came out in a whisper, and Beomgyu's heart broke at how scared the other sounded.
"I- I don't know."
Beomgyu tried to be the strong one, and thought. "Okay, okay. Let's...Let's get you somewhere safer." But the other shook his head back and forth.
"I just need a second okay? I need.. I need some air for a second. Just give me a second."
Beomgyu watched as he headed outside, and saw him hit the call button for the contact 'Mom'.
Okay, now Beomgyu was scared.
He knew Yeonjun had said to give him a second, but he was worried sick. So, he followed him out onto the porch, keeping a safe distance from the conversation between Aphrodite and her son.
Yeonjun's voice still sounded shaken when he was talking to his mom.
"I don't know, okay? I remember... I remember talking to Beomgyu about planning the party. And then I just.. spaced out. And then I glowed."
Yeonjun listened to the other side. "Yes mom. I've heard of it." More listening, then:
"No, of course not. I've known Beomgyu since Jan-"
The boy stopped short and fell silent. Beomgyu noticed that his gaze had gone into the party again. Beomgyu followed his gaze to where Soobin was filling a cup with something.
"Yeah. I'll call you back."
Yeonjun walked past him, not acknowledging whether or not he noticed Beomgyu follow him. He tapped Soobin on the shoulder, and Beomgyu tried not to gasp out loud as he connected it all.
The snippets from his conversation with his mom over the phone, the pink glow, the insistence of knowing Soobin's name...the supernatural nature of it all.
Cupid had fallen in love.
____
Soobin promised his mom that he would stay an hour. One hour, no more, no less.
He hated parties. It was all pain, whether from the alcohol or from the emotional highs.
He needed to get out soon. He felt a tap on his shoulder and sighed, preparing for the first of many requests of the night.
When he turned, he saw the guy Beomgyu was talking to. He assumed it was Yeonjun, given what Beomgyu had said in the past about his pink hair. Soobin always thought it was cool that he had done that. His own hair was blue, but pink felt braver.
He smiled at Yeonjun. "Oh. Hey! I was just gonna ask if you guys wanted anything."
He paused when he noticed how the other was just staring at him, breathing hard.
"Uh.... Did you want anything?"
It was like a switch flipped off in Yeonjun's brain and he completely changed. "No! Sorry...I'm sorry. I know I'm acting weird. It's hard to explain, honestly. I don't think you'd believe me anyway."
Soobin frowned. "Is everything okay? You kind of.. well no offense. But you smell really strong. Is there some rose-based alcohol that you're drunk on?"
He knew it sounded harsh, but seriously. The smell was drowning him.
The other froze. Oh, Titan. Not again. But it didn't last as long, because he then said:
"You.. you smell roses? You said you smell roses, right?"
"Uh...yeah. It's, like, suffocating. Maybe switch perfumes?" He tried to laugh, but it was like the other had seen a ghost.
He just kept hearing him mumble things like, "Smells...roses...it's mutual...", and, "bad smell... doesn't love you. Roses...means yes."
Soobin had watched too many episodes of Criminal Minds for this shit.
In any normal situation, he would've ran. But it was like something was holding him there. He didn't even want to leave.
Eventually, he could tell Yeonjun noticed his own behavior. Soobin startled when the other literally slapped himself and said "Leave me alone, I can do this myself!"
"Uh...okay? Sorry."
He started to walk off but the other grabbed his wrist, then quickly let go, embarrassed.
"Not you. I'm sorry, not you. Titan. This is the worst fucking first impression ever. I.. I'm Yeonjun. You probably already knew that. Because of Beomgyu. Ha. Right..."
He sighed."Can we just talk somewhere? It's... I have to explain a lot. And it's weird to do it here."
Soobin didn't know why he found himself nodding, and allowing the other boy to drag him outside, but he did. They were both sitting in the backyard, on a wall away from the main party. He started to finally hear himself think.
Yeonjun caught his bottom lip between his teeth, then started.
"There's no easy way to say this. I'm Aphrodite's son? So I'm technically Cupid. And I usually help everyone else get their shit together with feelings and relationships...which I realize is hard to believe given how I've acted tonight."
Despite it all, Soobin laughed. The boy had started acting a lot less creepy.
"Anyway...the reason I was like that earlier was because my 'Cupid' side is, actually, like.. a sort of alter? And I usually keep him quiet but..." He fell silent, and Soobin found himself asking: "But what?"
Yeonjun looked at him with an unreadable expression. "When you came up to Beomgyu, I started feeling sick. I get sick pretty easily, especially at parties."
Oh. Soobin deflated. He really does just want my help.
"But this was a different sickness. I couldn't really see, or think of anything except... Well it doesn't matter. I called my mom because I thought I blacked out."
He was really trying to follow, but it was hard. Especially when he'd just now noticed how pretty the other boy's eyes were.
The next stream of words came all together. "Basicallymymomsaidthatyouhavethiseffectonmebecauseyouremysoulmate."
Soobin blinked a couple times. "I'm really sorry, I didn't catch a single fucking part of that."
Yeonjun sighed, and tried again. "My mom told me that everything that was happening to me, happened to her whenever she found a soulmate."
Now it was Soobin who froze. Did I hear that right?
"I mean, she had a lot. Because of her being the goddess of love. But since I'm her son, she says there's only one person who does that for me. And that I'll know when they wink at me, since that's how my powers work.
Yeonjun coughed awkwardly. "So... she asked me if anyone had winked at me lately, and since I blacked out I didn't think anyone did. But then I looked at you again, and my alter came out and that's who was acting like a creepy fuck."
He took a deep breath, relieved for it to all he explained.
Soobin just stared. "I'm sorry, I just... I don't think I understand. You're telling me we're soulmates?" He thought it over, but didn't really find himself upset about the idea.
Yeonjun opened his mouth, then closed it and simply nodded. "Yeah. I guess. But I understand if you don't want to like... hang out or whatever." He laughed sadly. "Okay, like...I'd probably get sick over it, and it might be really bad for my alter. But whatever, I would never want you to do something you weren't comfortable with."
Soobin remained silent, not really knowing what to say. He couldn't really remember the last time someone had been so considerate with him, with what he wanted.
The other boy sighed. "I mean, I kind of know how it feels. To be forced to do something even if you don't want to? Like, nothing awful. But sometimes the most random students here do it. Like with crushes and relationship issues." Yeonjun was staring at the floor, oblivious to the effect of his ranting on Soobin.
"It's like.. I'm constantly being asked for favors. I want to be a good person, but I want to be a normal person too. And it doesn't feel like I can when everyone constantly needs something from me."
And that was when Choi Soobin truly believed it was his soulmate sitting beside him.