Chapter 2: something that felt like warmth

Taehyung wasn’t used to waiting for people.

Yet, there he was.

Standing near the campus gate, arms crossed loosely, eyes scanning the passing crowd.

He didn’t check the time.

Didn’t fidget.

But the moment Eunwoo appeared, slightly out of breath, something in Taehyung settled.

“Sorry,” Eunwoo said, adjusting his bag. “Got held back.”

Taehyung simply turned and started walking. “You’re late.”

Eunwoo let out a small laugh, falling into step beside him. “You noticed.”

“I was leaving anyway.”

A lie.

But Eunwoo didn’t call him out.

⸻

It became a habit after that.

Waiting.

Walking.

Existing side by side.

⸻

Eunwoo wasn’t extraordinary.

That was the first thing Taehyung noticed.

He wasn’t overly talented, nor particularly ambitious in a way that stood out. He did his work, attended classes, and lived his life without making too much noise.

But he was kind.

In quiet ways.

He remembered small things—like how Taehyung preferred his coffee less sweet, or how he didn’t like crowded places. He didn’t make a big deal out of it, but he adjusted.

And Taehyung noticed.

Of course he did.

He always noticed everything.

⸻

“You don’t talk much,” Eunwoo said one day as they sat under a tree, sharing a simple meal.

Taehyung raised a brow. “You talk enough for both of us.”

Eunwoo chuckled. “That’s fair.”

A pause.

Then—

“But I don’t think you’re quiet because you have nothing to say.”

Taehyung glanced at him.

Eunwoo continued, softer now, “I think you just don’t think people are worth saying things to.”

Taehyung didn’t respond.

But for the first time, someone had said something that felt… accurate.

⸻

It was strange.

How easily Eunwoo slipped past the barriers Taehyung had built so carefully over the years.

Not by force.

Not by persistence.

But simply by being there.

⸻

Weeks turned into months.

And what started as quiet companionship slowly deepened into something harder to define.

Taehyung found himself speaking more.

Not a lot.

But more than he did with anyone else.

Eunwoo listened.

Always.

Without interrupting.

Without judging.

⸻

“You’re different from what people say,” Eunwoo admitted one evening.

Taehyung scoffed lightly. “People don’t know me.”

“I know.”

A simple response.

Yet it carried weight.

⸻

For someone like Taehyung, who had spent years being misunderstood, that acknowledgment felt… dangerous.

Because it made him want more.

More understanding.

More presence.

More of Eunwoo.

⸻

And that was the problem.

⸻

Taehyung didn’t do “more.”

He didn’t rely on people.

Didn’t build expectations.

Didn’t allow himself to need anyone.

But somewhere along the way—

He started needing Eunwoo.

⸻

He noticed it in small ways.

The way his mood shifted depending on whether Eunwoo was around.

The way silence felt heavier when Eunwoo wasn’t beside him.

The way he started looking for him in crowded spaces.

⸻

It was subtle.

Slow.

Almost unnoticeable.

But it was there.

⸻

And Eunwoo—

Eunwoo stayed consistent.

Warm.

Steady.

Safe.

⸻

For the first time in his life, Kim Taehyung felt something unfamiliar.

Something fragile.

Something he didn’t quite understand yet.

⸻

But it felt like warmth.

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