Chapter 11: History Repeats

History Repeats

✿

Spring was still blooming; cherry blossoms roaming the streets like birds that flew freely amidst the skies. The clouds were scattered around the blue; the city was crowded with people; everyone had their own lives while spring continued to come like melodies from the trees.

Yeonjun was in the lounge together with Hyunjin and Wooyoung, they stayed seated on the blue sofa — it was lunch break anyway, they had time to talk about things they wanted to plan for. They have been stressed and packed up because of work, a little vacation by the waves won't be too much to ask for, right? Besides, the guys deserve it; it's the least they could do for themselves.

"You have to make up your mind," Yeonjun interrupted the two's endless bickering, "Are we going to the beach or not? Y'all decided already," he rolled his eyes as he leaned against the sofa.

The skin between Hyunjin's brows creased, "It's Wooyoung Hyung, he keeps suggesting other places to have a vacation in. He's the one who can't make up his mind." Hyunjin raised an accusing finger towards Wooyoung who scoffed.

"I'm just suggesting other possible places just in case you guys would also like it," Wooyoung defended himself, his voice rising in tone a little while looking at Hyunjin.

Hyunjin sighed dramatically, "Well, we don't want to spend a vacation in any of the other places you mentioned. The beach is actually a nice spot already." Hyunjin looked at Yeonjun, "Right, Yeonjun Hyung?"

"I'm cool with anything as long as there's food," Yeonjun shrugged, he bent closer to his knees and placed his elbows atop them, "And yeah, the beach is cool too. I mean, we'll be inviting my brother and friends too. It's a place big enough for all of us."

"Oh," Wooyoung suddenly flashed out a teasing grin, Hyunjin did the same, "Are you going to invite Beomgyu to our little getaway this weekend?" He nudged the pink-haired boy with a smirk. Yeonjun could only roll his eyes, yet his red ears were betraying his attempt of denying anything.

"I don't know," Yeonjun shrugged, "It's not like I know if he's busy or anything." He chuckled while looking at them. Wooyoung and Hyunjin only raised their brows with a look of disinterest written all over their faces. Yeonjun chose to ignore them, besides, what he said was true. Heck, he doesn't even know where the little one was right now.

After what had happened during that night, things got a little awkward between them. Even their ride home during that night was quiet. They did the things they knew they shouldn't do — breaking in the school and even staying out late — Yeonjun knew it was the beginning of something new, they'll start from scratch, they'll set aside the painful things from the past. And honestly, Yeonjun doesn't know how to make use of this 'beginning'.

"Well, there's one obvious solution to that," Hyunjin clapped his hands, Yeonjun waited for his next words with a raised brow, "Ask him, you dummy."

The two burst out laughing with Yeonjun sinking into his seat, how could he be so stupid? He just needs to ask Beomgyu if he's got any plans this weekend because of the given fact that he doesn't know if he was busy — yet he couldn't even think of simple and obvious solutions to something that wasn't even a problem. Yeonjun scowled at them, "Stop laughing at me. Fine, I'll ask him if I see him."

Wooyoung glanced behind Yeonjun and his laugh grew louder, "Well, if you turn around, you will."

Yeonjun raised a brow, "What do you mean?" He asked, Hyunjin only pointed at something from behind and Yeonjun slowly turned to see what he was referring to.

There he saw Beomgyu walking towards them with a few papers clutched closely to his chest. Yeonjun instantly felt the winds inside of him swirl, he gulped and looked away. He didn't know what to do, they haven't spoken a lot since then, what if he makes a fool of himself? He glanced at the two who were already waving at the approaching boy.

Yeonjun thought he could handle it, he'll be fine, he's okay. He just needed to act normal and avoid embarrassing himself. But oh boy, that really won't go well, because the moment he heard Beomgyu's voice — he felt his heart drop to the deepest parts of his chest. He took a deep breath in.

"Hey, Beomgyu," Wooyoung waved a hand, Hyunjin also smiled at the boy. Beomgyu returned the gesture, "Hi, Hyung. What are you guys doing here?"

"Oh yeah," Hyunjin beamed a brighter smile, "Yeonjun Hyung can tell you why we're here." He spared Yeonjun an unmoving gaze and Yeonjun held every ounce in him to prevent himself from punching the living daylights out of this boy.

Beomgyu awkwardly chuckled as he looked at Yeonjun. The elder tried to smile, "We were just...planning for a short vacation at the beach."

The little one seemed to have brightened up at the answer, "Really? When are you guys going to have it?"

Hyunjin was the one to answer, "This weekend. We plan to bring Yeonjun Hyung's brother and his friends too."

Beomgyu nodded, "That sounds like fun."

Wooyoung nodded with a grin, "Sure does. Speaking of, Yeonjun here has something to ask you."

Fucking hell, Yeonjun threw a heavy gaze at Wooyoung, he clenched his fists and sweetly smiled at Beomgyu — his eyes were bright and crescent, Beomgyu was endeared by the sight.

"Right," Yeonjun breathed out, "Thanks for reminding me," he poked the insides of his cheeks as he glanced at Wooyoung who only teased him by smiling from ear to ear.

"You're welcome," Wooyoung waved his hand with a small pout. Yeonjun released a breath, why was he even acting like this? Hello, he kissed the person who was in front of him so many fucking times — asking him to come along in their damn vacation was no big of a deal. Beomgyu was right, he's such a wimp.

"Hyung?" Beomgyu snapped him back to reality, "What did you want to ask?"

Yeonjun shook his head, "I'm sorry, I spaced out a little. Anyway," he awkwardly laughed, "Are you busy this weekend? We wanted you to tag along with us to the beach, too. If you're not busy, of course."

Beomgyu thought about it, he's not busy anyway. He'd probably be in the comfort of his bed, playing games, or looking for extra work to do and let the weekend pass like it never happened. It's boring, would Beomgyu really pick that over a few days at a place that had a great view of the ocean and sky?

"Come to think of it," Beomgyu's lips naturally came into a pout out of habit as he thought, "I'm not busy at all. So, I guess, I can."

Yeonjun beamed a smile and he wrapped his warm hold around Beomgyu's small wrist, this caught the younger male off-guard, "That's great. C'mere, you can plan with us."

The elder male gently pulled Beomgyu to sit beside him, the happiness that washed over Yeonjun's mind caused him to act out on impulse — but it was fine, he didn't really think of it much. If this was the way to start this beginning, then he'll go along the lines with a light heart and Beomgyu's fingers curled around his. He smiled, "Glad you're not busy," Yeonjun whispered — as low as he could as if he wanted to exchange notes in secrecy with Beomgyu.

"Come on, I'm not that busy. I can make them for the beach," Beomgyu giggled while looking at Yeonjun with loving eyes.

Right.

He can make time.

Especially for Yeonjun.

✿

Friday.

Yeonjun had a sudden photo shoot, he was informed about it two days ago. He was now inside the set with a few makeup artists around him; they were styling his hair and brushing light colors across Yeonjun's face. He stayed still and focused on his phone. It was a photo shoot for a new set of clothes from a famous brand, so he looked through the kinds of clothes they were planning to advertise.

"Are you all almost done with him?" The photographer walked in while asking, they turned to look at him and nodded with a smile. Yeonjun also fixed his attention on him.

"Hello, Yeonjun." He lent out his hand which Yeonjun gladly accepted, "I'm so sorry for the short notice, this was a pretty urgent photoshoot. I hope we didn't cause that much trouble."

"No, it's fine." Yeonjun assured him, "I didn't have any scheduled photoshoot for this week so we managed to proceed with this. Don't worry. It's no trouble."

The boy's soft and gentle voice managed to take away the photographer's worry, "Thank you."

Yeonjun hopped off his seat and walked along with the photographer beside him, "You will be having a photoshoot with this brand's model. She'll arrive in a few. Meanwhile, let's proceed to the set and get ready."

Yeonjun no longer questioned any further and followed what was told. He stood amidst the set: there was a short green sofa that matched well with his own gray clothes, a few lights, and the camera stood in front of him. A make-up artist approached him again to retouch his makeup while everyone else had another job to do.

"Ji-ah, Ji-ah! You're here!"

With the mention of that name, Yeonjun froze on his spot — eyes wide and a breath caught in his chest, like a deer caught in red lights.

Yeonjun swore he heard his neck crack when he hardly whipped his head to look at the side; there he saw the photographer and a pretty lady treading down the floor with him. Yeonjun swallowed back an annoying feeling in his chest. What the fuck was she doing here? After everything that happened, he can't believe this was how they'll meet again. Inside the same building where Beomgyu also worked for a damn photoshoot. Yeonjun's brows were now knitted close to each other as he heaved a sharp breath.

"Ah, Yeonjun!" The photographer ushered Yeonjun to come over and Yeonjun did as told with a frown, "This is Ji-ah. You'll be doing the photoshoot with her today."

They met gazes: Yeonjun gave her an unrelenting look in the eye, while Ji-ah had a wide-eyed gaze with slightly parted lips.

"Oh, Yeonjun...it's been a while," Ji-ah looked breathless while staring at him. Yeonjun wanted to roll his eyes, but he held himself back. Keyword: Professionalism. Instead, he just gave her a nod.

"You know each other?" The photographer asked with curious eyes.

"Well," Ji-ah sounded hesitant as she glanced at Yeonjun, "we were schoolmates back in high school."

Yeonjun buried a hand in his pocket, "Yeah, schoolmates."

The photographer threw them a glance before nodding, he felt the awkwardness between the two so he decided to let them talk before the shoot, "Ah, that's great. You'll have no problems during the shoot then. I'll just go fix the camera." They both nodded while watching him walk away.

"Yeonjun," Ji-ah immediately called for his attention in a hushed manner, "It's been a long time since we last saw each other."

Yeonjun looked at her with an annoyed feeling growing in his chest, "And I really wanted for us to not meet again but the world's a fucker, ain't it?"

"Yeonjun, please," Ji-ah took in a breath, she knows he's mad — he's got every reason to be angry at her anyway, so she understood. "I know we didn't end on good terms, but I just really wanted to tell you that I'm really sorry."

"Ji-ah," Yeonjun snapped at her, "it has been more than five years, why did you only think of apologizing now? Do you know just how mad I am with you?"

"I know, I'm aware." Ji-ah quickly answered before sighing, she bit her lip, "I was really selfish back then, I wasn't thinking straight and I know I messed up big time. I ruined a lot for you and it really made me feel guilty."

Yeonjun took a sharp breath in while avoiding her gaze, he was so pissed — he needed a breather, but he knew he had to face this. "I'm glad you're aware of what you did. What can I even do about it now? It happened already," Yeonjun massaged his temples.

Ji-ah ran a hand through her long blonde hair, "I'm sorry, I really am. It really made me realize a lot of things and I've learned from it. From everything. And I've been meaning to apologize but I just didn't know how."

There was regret in her voice, Yeonjun could feel the sincerity too. They were young back then, all of them made mistakes — most of them were part of everyone's adulthood regrets now. Yeonjun had his own wrong too, even Beomgyu.

What was the point of holding onto this anger?

Besides, he's got a photo shoot with the very girl standing before him at this moment. He can just ditch and cancel this shoot if he wanted to, but he deemed that the photographer was really thankful this was pushed through so he didn't want to add more troubles. The photographer didn't want this anyway.

"It's...it's not fine," Yeonjun didn't know what to say but he still went on with it, "What you did wasn't fine at all but I can't just take it all out on you when I know I had my own fault too."

Ji-ah remained quiet while looking at her shoes, thus, Yeonjun continued to speak with a breathy voice. "It ruined a lot, your selfishness did, but as long as you've learned from it and you're not here to repeat what you did, then I guess we can just move on from it."

And besides, he's so close to having Beomgyu back now. It's what mattered the most. Beomgyu mattered the most.

"I have, I swear." Ji-ah raised her hand with a worried expression, "I'm sorry again."

"It's okay, you can stop apologizing for something that's already been burnt to ashes," Yeonjun forced out a small smile, "Let's start the shoot now?"

And Ji-ah smiled while nodding.

History repeats, yet this time around, it's like a different song played but with the same meaning; a better meaning.

✿

The photoshoot started, it went by smoothly. They weren't totally comfortable with each other, but the tension had been eased and they started to get the hang of it. They weren't needed to be all touchy anyway, just a few good poses, and they'll be done for the day.

"Ah, good!" The photographer said in bliss while continuously snapping pictures of them. "That's more I like it!" He continued to compliment them.

The sunlight seeped through the glass windows of the bright room, just then, the shadow of a tall boy came crawling on the floor. It was Beomgyu. He was looking for Chan again and he figured that he must be in this set because he was one of the staff needed.

He looked around, gaze darting from every corner of the room. Until his eyes caught sight of that oh-so-familiar figure not so far away from where he was.

A smile almost made its way to his lips, but when he saw the girl who was doing the photo shoot with Yeonjun, his smile vanished before it could even appear. He clenched his fists while staring at them with unreadable eyes.

Beomgyu saw it all: he saw the way Yeonjun's arm was around Ji-ah's shoulders as he pulled her closer, Ji-ah had a sweet smile on her face as she looked straight into the camera. It was an annoying sight, horrifying if Beomgyu were to exaggerate it. He just couldn't swallow the thought that this girl was back again in the most unexpected time.

"And that's it, let's take a break before we move on!" The photographer yelled, everyone followed, but for some obvious reason, Beomgyu didn't bother to move away from his spot. He just stood there, tall and fuming.

Yeonjun smiled at Ji-ah before his eyes were quickly fixed on Beomgyu, his smile slowly faltered. "Beomgyu," he whispered — however, Ji-ah heard it loud and clear so she turned to look at the mentioned boy as well.

"Hey," the elder walked to him with worried eyes, indeed he was. He's afraid that Beomgyu might take it the wrong way again and everything will come crumbling down like before. "It's not what you think," his voice showed fear, he was scared. Plenty of thoughts came flooding his mind. Perhaps that event broke him too much that it still haunts him to this day, still scares him, still kills him.

Beomgyu saw it, he was aware, so terribly aware.

"Beomgyu, it's not what you think. Ji-ah is the model for this shoot too," Yeonjun tried to prevent his voice from shaking, god, Beomgyu wanted to hug him and tell him that it was all right. That he didn't have to worry.

"Don't take it the wrong way," Ji-ah could already sense the anxiety in Yeonjun's figure, it made her feel awful, "and I'm sorry..." she quickly squeezed those words in despite the growing tension.

Beomgyu looked at them, he sighed, "It's okay, I'm not mad...at least not anymore. You don't have to be worried," Beomgyu gently held Yeonjun's cold hand.

"I promise, I'm better than before," Beomgyu whispered, his voice almost cracking while staring into his world's eyes. Did the universe love Yeonjun so much that they placed all their stars in his eyes?

"It's nothing, I swear," Yeonjun whispered back as he squeezed Beomgyu's smaller hand.

Beomgyu nodded, he hummed, "I know, I know. It's okay, don't worry, Yeonjun."

They stared at each other; Yeonjun felt safe.

"Anyway," Beomgyu chuckled, "I have to get going now...I have things to do." Beomgyu glanced at Ji-ah and gave her a small nod, "I'll take my leave now."

And the second Beomgyu left Yeonjun's hand, the elder felt like a missing piece had been stolen away from him.

He watched as Beomgyu's small figure slowly disappeared from his sight, it felt like watching him walk away all over again, he still couldn't set his mind to peace. Yeonjun felt like he needed more, that Beomgyu also needed more than just an explanation. He looked at Ji-ah who only smiled at him, "Whatever you're thinking of right now, don't be hesitant about it."

And Yeonjun threw away every ounce of hesitation he had and ran after Beomgyu down the hallway.

There was a full-on rainstorm inside Beomgyu's mind, he saw the plea in Yeonjun's eyes — he truly was better than before — it was just a stupid photo shoot, he shouldn't get so worked up about it. Besides, Yeonjun said it himself, it was nothing.

He sighed, "The look in his eyes..." Beomgyu mumbled to himself and rubbed his face. The look in his eyes screamed fear.

Suddenly, Beomgyu bumped into someone when he took a turn. He groaned, "Oh my god, I'm so sorry." Beomgyu quickly went to help the boy stand up.

The boy gave him an assuring nod, "No, it's fine. I was just...about to talk to you anyway."

"Oh?" Beomgyu raised a curious brow, "What is it?"

"I know it's kind of sudden..." the boy pursed his lips while trying to maintain eye contact with a confused Beomgyu, "But I kinda have a growing interest for you."

That took Beomgyu by surprise, "A what? I'm sorry, what do you mean?"

"I like you, I think, yeah," the boy sighed as he buried his face into his hands, "I am so embarrassing, I'm sorry." He whispered but Beomgyu still heard it.

"Oh, I—"

And before Beomgyu could even answer, a voice from behind already cut off his words as he held Beomgyu's hand that was hiding on his back, Beomgyu almost gasped at this as he looked at Yeonjun who was already standing beside him.

"I'm sorry to interrupt, but I need to have a word with Beomgyu. Will you excuse us?" Yeonjun flashed out a small smile and the boy in front of them could only nod.

"Yeon—" And again, he couldn't finish his sentence when Yeonjun immediately dragged him away from the boy and down the empty hallways. He just let the elder pull him to whatever place he had in mind.

And he did not expect it to be in an empty room with the lights switched off. Yeonjun closed the door and dragged Beomgyu to stand in front of him. The room wasn't completely pitch black, there were windows that allowed the daylight to come through — giving the room a dim atmosphere.

"Yeonjun, what is wrong with you?" Beomgyu asked him in disbelief, "What do you want? I told you, it's okay. You don't have—"

Not even bothering to let the little one finish, Yeonjun already pulled him by the waist and gently conquered Beomgyu's parted lips.

Beomgyu's eyes widened in shock. He stood stiff and unmoving in his spot, hands laid lifelessly on Yeonjun's shoulders. Beomgyu wanted to push away from Yeonjun's lips, to tell him that he's okay and he doesn't have to do this. But the truth was that he longed for this again. God, Yeonjun's lips tasted like strawberries. You can run away from the truth, or you can even deny it, he could never lie about the truth as well; he wanted Yeonjun to kiss him, and it was the truth that love wanted to expose and uncover in the form of a kiss.

Yeonjun parted away from the kiss, pulled Beomgyu towards an empty table, and carried him to sit there. Before Beomgyu could even yell at him, Yeonjun immediately sealed his lips again with a tender brush of drugs that Beomgyu was absolutely addicted to. A hand was placed on Beomgyu's waist while the other stayed still at the nape of Beomgyu's neck. Beomgyu's hands climbed their way up around Yeonjun's neck as he closed his eyes.

"What were you going to answer earlier?" Yeonjun briefly ended the kiss to ask, Beomgyu was breathless — he stared at Yeonjun with dazed eyes before responding with a hushed voice, "I...I was going to reject him."

Yeonjun secretly smirked before stealing another kiss, "Why were you going to reject him?" He asked and planted kisses that were as light as feathers on Beomgyu's cheek.

"Don't act dumb," Beomgyu frowned with red cheeks, "You know why."

"But I don't," Yeonjun softly shook his head while leaning close to Beomgyu's lips, "Tell me."

"God damn it, Yeonjun. You know why," Beomgyu wasn't having it, he continued to lazily slap Yeonjun's chest which only caused the elder male to chuckle.

Yeonjun leaned in for another kiss, "I have not even the slightest idea, so please, tell me." He whispered with his lips breaths away from Beomgyu.

"Because I like...love someone else," Beomgyu whispered, Yeonjun felt a whole new feeling inside his chest — he leaned in to place a soft kiss on Beomgyu's jaw before asking, "Who...?"

Yeonjun stared at him amidst the dim-lighted room. Beomgyu's hold on either of Yeonjun's shoulders tightened, he hid his face on the crook of Yeonjun's neck — he sniffed his scent in: perfume and spring.

"You."

Wondered. Beomgyu wondered what it felt like to kiss someone before: would he go insane? Would he run wild? Would he want more and more until his lips bleed out the love he received? He wanted to know what was deep within the abyss that came along with a kiss. Yet when he met Yeonjun's lips, he never wondered what it was like to kiss someone again. Instead, he wanted to be kissed with the purpose of diving right into that abyss — in a way that he'll forget there was one. And Yeonjun always did a totally magnificent job at it.

Yeonjun couldn't hold back the chuckle, "I'm in love with someone, too." He whispered, he moved a little closer with the intention of stealing another needed kiss.

"You," and Yeonjun completely gave into his desires as he closed the annoying gaps in between their lips.

Beomgyu's lips have turned as red as a rose when Yeonjun pulled away before resting his forehead on Beomgyu's, "You and I need this. We need something that is more than words to assure our troubled hearts, and what's better than our lips, right?" The end of Yeonjun's lips curved into an undying smirk.

"Yes, yes," Beomgyu just nodded without even fully comprehending what the elder said. All he could understand was that Yeonjun meant they needed more, and freaking hell, Beomgyu does need more.

Was a kiss even worth it if the person whom Beomgyu was kissing wasn't Yeonjun?

Yeonjun could only chuckle at the little one's dazed look, "You look like you need more of it." Yeonjun grinned and before Beomgyu could speak — Yeonjun had already won over those sweet pairs of lips yet again. Like they were his and only his.

It felt like Yeonjun's kiss was oxygen and Beomgyu was dying to breathe.

✿ Bloom Again ✿