accidental encore | taegyu

they had been playing for a while now—various card games, a bit of truth or dare, and even some chaotic rounds of charades. the apartment was filled with laughter, teasing, and the occasional whiny complaints when someone lost. yeonjun had thrown a fit when soobin correctly guessed hueningkai's ridiculous acting of a 'shark falling in love,' and beomgyu had spent five minutes trying to convince taehyun that he was, in fact, very good at pictionary, despite his terrible drawings.

amidst the fun, hueningkai's phone suddenly buzzed. he glanced down, his face dropping slightly as he saw the caller id.

"it's manager hyung," he announced, already knowing what was coming.

the group fell silent for a moment before hueningkai sighed in defeat and answered the call.

"hello?"

on the other end, the manager's voice was calm but firm. "where are you guys? you disappeared the moment you landed."

hueningkai winced. "uh... at a friend's place."

"which friend?"

"...beomgyu's."

there was a pause. then a sigh. "send me the address. i'll pick you up in twenty minutes."

"okay, hyung..." hueningkai hung up, pouting slightly as he looked at the others. "well, that's that. we have twenty minutes before we get dragged back."

yeonjun groaned dramatically. "nooo, we were having so much fun."

"i mean, we can still have fun for twenty minutes," soobin pointed out, already reshuffling the deck of cards. "let's keep playing."

and so they did. despite knowing they'd have to leave soon, they kept the energy going, cracking jokes and sharing stories between rounds. at one point, beomgyu and taehyun found themselves sitting a little too close again, knees bumping under the table. taehyun leaned in at one point, whispering, "you cheated in pictionary, didn't you?"

beomgyu scoffed. "as if. you're just mad i'm a better artist than you."

taehyun narrowed his eyes playfully before nudging him with his shoulder. beomgyu bit his lip, trying to ignore the warmth spreading in his chest.

the minutes passed quickly, and soon, they were all slipping on their shoes and jackets, preparing to leave. yeonjun and soobin were talking about something, their conversation pulling hueningkai's attention as well. for a moment, no one was looking in taehyun and beomgyu's direction.

and that's when it happened.

taehyun, in one smooth, effortless motion, leaned in and pressed a quick peck to beomgyu's lips.

it was so fast, so subtle, that for a second, beomgyu thought he imagined it. his eyes widened, his breath caught in his throat. before he could even react, taehyun was already straightening up, acting like nothing had happened.

beomgyu's face instantly burned. he covered it with both hands, willing himself to stay calm, but his entire body betrayed him.

taehyun didn't even look at him. he just casually zipped up his jacket, as if he hadn't just kissed beomgyu right in front of their friends.

beomgyu peeked between his fingers, glaring at him. "you—"

"hm?" taehyun hummed innocently, glancing at him with the most neutral expression ever.

beomgyu clenched his jaw. "nothing," he muttered, turning away, pretending like his entire soul wasn't currently overheating.

as they stepped out of the apartment, beomgyu found himself sneaking glances at taehyun, heart racing.