The meeting with the client went well—their team will renovate the interior of a small teahouse called Haedabang, in Ansan-si to upgrade its clientele. It’s at least a two hour drive from Seoul and Beomgyu had almost refused the project, because after computing the cost of the project and the resources they will need in transporting and the manpower… plus more, it really is not worth it.
Except the client said that he would be willing to pay any amount for them to get the project done-- that they were highly recommended by another client he doesn’t want to reveal. Beomgyu had consulted this with Yeonjun and the guy simply said that they are still a small company and needed all the projects they could get… also, they needed the money to get a new office and to hire more people.
Beomgyu doesn’t regret it anyway when he met the owner, Jeon Suyeon. She is a sweet old lady who tells him about how it’s really just his grandson who wants to fix up her old teahouse. She doesn’t really mind how other restaurants and cafés are getting more customers because for her, this is just something she’d like to do because it has always been her life. She has a garden at the back where she grows her plants, collects the tea leaves and dries them to her standard.
Besides, she has her loyal customers who doesn’t care if the interior of her teahouse is falling apart. He couldn’t agree more. Her Lan Han Guo tea recipe is just amazing and when Beomgyu asked her what she put in it, she basically gave him a toothy grin that accentuated the beautiful wrinkles on her face and told him ‘It’s a secret.’
He spent a good amount of his morning not just measuring spaces and taking photos of the place, but also just talking to the old woman. She has so many stories to tell, despite the slur on her speech which she also said happened when she suffered a minor stroke last year. It’s already almost lunch when Beomgyu left him with the promise of coming back. She packed him some mahua for the road before he left. Right at that moment, he knows he has fallen in love with her and will probably do this job even if his grandson didn’t pay enough.
She reminds him so much of his late grandmother—probably the only person who has loved him and accepted him even before he came out to his family. His grandmother took him in for a few months before his father found out and kicked him out, again.
The memories bring a bitter taste in his mouth he knows he can never wash it out with any sort of tea. Rejection is foul, but rejection from your own family is just the worst. Sometimes, he wishes he is not the way he is. Maybe, life would have been easier.
No use thinking about that now. He goes back to where he parked Yeonjun’s pickup, because that guy is just a sweetheart and decides to look for someplace first to have lunch. He is about to start the engine of the truck when his phone buzzed
~ You said you’d call.
Beomgyu chuckles. He’s late for only ten minutes since the conversation with Jeon suyeon has dragged on for a while, but Taehyun is already mopey. It’s cute.
He picks up his phone, stills his heart and presses call. Taehyun answers on the third ring.
“Beom-hyung!” The excitement in his voice lifts Beomgyu's spirits up and in that one phrase, he finds himself smiling.
“Taehyun-sshi.” He says and he swears he heard Taehyun let out a breath he had been holding. Is he also nervous?
“Beom-hyung.”
“Taehyun-sshi.”
“Beom-hyung.”
Beomgyu chuckles, “Is that all we’re going to say?”
A pause, “No. I’m… I’m just happy to hear your voice finally.”
“You’re going soft on me, Taehyun-sshi.” He teases but his ears are heating up.
“...”
“Have you eaten lunch?”
“We had an early lunch… our meals don’t usually follow a correct schedule when we’re shooting. We just eat when we’re free.”
“Oh…” Beomgyu nods, “Now that you mentioned it, how come you never told me you’re also acting?”
“Ah, well...It’s not something I always do. It’s just a project I had to do.”
“Wow Taehyun-sshi is super talented.”
“Speak for yourself, Beom-hyung. I’ve seen your works and my puny self could never compare.”
“Who are you and what have you done to Kang Taehyun?”
A chuckle comes from the other line and Beomgyu can’t help but smile wider. The breathy laugh is both playful, awkward and beautiful. He wants to hear more of it—wants to see how that expression sits on Taehyun's perfectly sculptured, cold, stoic face. Yes, even with the selfies he sends Beomgyu, he was almost bound to think that the guy has emotional depth of a teaspoon. Knowing he can laugh and smile is actually quite nice.
“What’s nice, Beom-hyung?”
Huh? Did he say it out loud?
“Nothing… just…”
“Just what?”
“Just knowing you have another range of emotions apart from your usual angry just plain indifferent glare.”
“...I’m not always like that.”
“The selfies you send sure look that way.”
“Well, I couldn’t compare to the beauty of Beom-hyung's smile, anyway. But okay, I’ll send more selfies of me smiling.”
Beomgyu’s face heats up. How this kid can say embarrassing stuff like they’re not at all embarrassing is a real mystery. “Hey! I didn’t say that. Also, why do you even send me a lot? My phone memory is suffering.”
“Maybe hyung should just buy a new phone. I look more handsome in HD.”
“There he is. Welcome back, Taehyun-sshi.” He laughs.
Their banters go on for another thirty minutes or so and just ends when Kang Taehyun tells him the director is already calling them.
“We should meet sometime when I get back.” Taehyun says, “Maybe some lunch or dinner?”
“Why?” Beomgyu will be lying if he says he doesn’t want to or that the proposition just makes his heart flutter. Because surely, Taehyun didn’t just ask him on a date, did he?
“I still owe you for saving my life.”
“Oh that…” He has a point and it’s not a date. More of a thank you lunch. For a moment, his mood dampens but he shakes the feeling away and smiles softly, “You don’t have to do that.”
“Why not?” He can hear the pout in Taehyun's voice and he just wants to see it.
“I’ll be back in Seoul next week. We can go out Wednesday night. It’s going to be fun. Besides I’m a great company.”
It’s only Saturday today. He’ll be working on the mural later and as agreed, nobody will work tomorrow—but if he has to leave early on Wednesday, then maybe he’ll just need to work some more on it tomorrow. Yeonjun hyung doesn’t have to know.
“Hyung?”
Beomgyu quickly opens his calendar and says, “Alright. I’ll free my schedule.”
______
He feels dead.
Working non-stop for three days in a row on a mural drains him of energy and creative juices. But he’ll be damned if he says he didn’t enjoy every last bit of it.
It’s Wednesday afternoon and he is adding the finishing touches to the lobby mural. He is on the process of stippling dots into a blue radial pattern that looks like ripples of water when he hears a whistle behind him. It’s Yeonjun who is looking at the mural, very impressed, “You’ve outdone yourself, Choi beomgyu.”
Beomgyu grins at him, taking a step back to admire his work. It’s an abstract mural… shades of blue, green and purple and yellow dots creating what looked like rhythmic flows of music fading in and out of the black background. From afar, it looks like the dots are moving, the whole piece alive and dancing under the light… but when you go nearer, you see the intricacy of the details, the pattern Beomgyu is trying to create—the inspiration is the music of the city, the noise of the people. All the things he heard whilst making the mural, he put into it.
It’s life incarnate.
The staff, upon hearing Yeonjun's praises, start pouring in the room to admire his work as well. They are in the middle of congratulating him, shaking his paint-stained hands and patting his shoulder when his phone rings.
He looks over to Yeonjun who is aware of where he’s going tonight and gives him a nod. He excuses himself to answer the call.
“Taehyun-sshi.”
“Hyung, hi.” There is lull in Taehyun's voice, unlike the other times they have called each other… and god, they had. A lot more times than necessary, if Beomgyu is being honest. Taehyun is a chatterbox. He will call Beomgyu on random times of the day during his break and Beomgyu would be so eager to answer his call.
He even managed to do so during the times he is working on his mural. He doesn’t know why, but he doesn’t mind Taehyun crashing his way into his space even during his artistic faults. He kind of likes it, Taehyun would call him and remind him to eat his lunch or grab a snack or drink some water. It kind of makes him feel like, Taehyun is a lot older than he really is, or maybe he just really sucks at taking care of himself.
“About that dinner…” Taehyun says, voice filled with guilt. Beomgyu’s heart sinks. Oh no, he’s about to cancel. I knew it.
“My flight’s been delayed so I might not make it to a proper dinner.” Taehyun says.
Beomgyu can feel his eyes itch and his throat tightening but he refuses to acknowledge how that’s one of the telltale signs he’s about to cry. “I guess that can’t be helped.” He says, schooling his voice to sound less disappointed than he really is.
Taehyun is silent on the other line and he can hear the sound of people talking, an announcement in the background which meant he’s in the airport. “But if you’re up to a midnight snack, we can still meet up.”
Oh. Beomgyu hates how his mood instantly brightens at the proposition. Damn, why is he being so emotional? He knows why, though. Everytime he finishes an artwork, his emotions are always on a high. It’s like an extra piece of himself is left in the artwork and he’s left with an empty space that needed filling. Sometimes, it’s the ugly ones that fill it up.
“Are you sure you won’t be too tired for that?” He still asks because no matter what he wants, he’s still older than Taehyun and he has to be the sensible one.
“For hyung? Never.”
“Taehyun-sshi, you don’t have to force yourself. We can meet some other time.”
“I want to meet hyung tonight.”
Beomgyu sighs, he’s not sure if that is a good thing or a bad thing. One one side, he is thankful that he’s not the only one looking forward to this meetup, but on another--the more logical part of himself is just worried.
“Besides I might have to fly again tomorrow so I don’t really have the time.” Taehyun adds to convince him. Beomgyu feels bad immediately for even thinking of turning him down. How dare he?
“Taehyun-sshi is so busy.” Beomgyu says, smile already in place. He knows he will eventually give in. Kang Taehyun is too hard to reject anyway. “Alright. We can meet in my studio. I’ll send you the address.”
“I have it already.” Taehyun answers almost immediately, voice perking up.
“What? How?”
“You wrote it in the emergency contact, remember?”
“Oh, right…”
Taehyun then dictates to him the correct address of his studio and he confirms it. “Alright, I’ll see you later.”
“I’ll see you Taehyun. Have a safe flight.” Then as an afterthought, he adds. “Don’t pass out on my mailbox again.”
“Hyung!!!”
He cuts the line before the other guy can even say any smart retort because he always will.
Yeonjun saunters in, just when he’s pocketing his phone. He gives Beomgyu a knowing look before he says, “Take the day off.”
Beomgyu frowns, “What are you even suggesting? It’s just a dinner. I won’t--”
Yeonjun rolls his eyes, “What? You think I won’t know you were here all day Sunday?”
Beomgyu gapes at him… before he sighs defeatedly, of course, he really can’t hide anything from him. He opens his mouth to protest, besides he still needs to put acrylic over the mural and there are other deliveries he has to take care of tomorrow but Yeonjun raises his hand, “I’ll do it. You gotta trust me more, you know.”
Beomgyu finally agrees with him, but not before telling him in detail the process Yeonjun already knows. With that, he calls it a day and leaves with a good luck from the rest of the crew.
_____
~ Beomgyu-sshi. I just got back from China. I saw the photos of the mural you painted and it was beautiful. I sent it to my boss and he loved it. He’ll try to drop by tomorrow morning to check on it. But congratulations anyway!
~ Taehyung hyung, that’s great. I’m afraid I’m on break tomorrow so I won’t be there. But my staff and Yeonjun hyung will be there. If the client has serious concerns though, we can meet the next day.
~ It’s fine, Beomgyu-sshi. My client is very busy. He has a flight back to Korea at noon and will be back next week. But he told me he’s already in love with your mural. He’s also asking if you can design a new logo for the studio. He finds the current logo’s theme not fitting on the mural you painted.