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Taehyun thought Beomgyu was pretty, maybe even the prettiest person he knows.
He knows a lot of people, though none of them even compared to Beomgyu.
Beomgyu was pretty all the time, he thought it a lot, he was pretty when he performed, all of his members were, but looking at Beomgyu always managed to make air catch in his throat. It’s like the moment the stylists had their chance to play dress up with the five of them they always managed the perfect outfits for Beomgyu, every concept fit him no matter what. With long hair, with short hair, no matter the color, they all suited Beomgyu so well, Taehyun couldn’t look away even if he wanted to. Even when Beomgyu dressed himself, Taehyun get enough. The cute baggy hoodies he wore, maybe even stolen from one of the other’s closet, and baggy pants that fit around his hips nicely. Sometimes he dressed better than he usually would, putting on jewelry, tighter clothes, a touch of make-up per his own request, and Taehyun would be hooked, admiring the man as the prettiest person in the world, as he should have.
His presence was pretty, the smile he carried while performing, singing in a beautiful low register that always sounded amazing paired with Taehyun’s own voice. When he got to see Beomgyu run off and dance happily among the four of them, playfully annoying Soobin, playing with Kai, obnoxiously flirting with Yeonjun, and Taehyun’s favorite, Beomgyu interacting with their moa. He was so kind, he was so authentic, he’d play up reactions so easily, like he was born to, Taehyun admired him for it.
He didn’t only think his hyung was pretty in those moments, he thought he was pretty while he slept, he didn’t snore or drool, he just slept peacefully. Sometimes he’d say something that didn’t make sense, and Taehyun would smile, but even when he fell asleep with a pout or a ghost of a smile, Taehyun loved it. Taking as many pictures for “blackmail” when really he just thought his hyung looked utterly adorable. He looked just as pretty waking up, deep brown pupils adjusting to the harsh light, his eyes were squinty when he woke up, unlike Taehyun’s who’s eyes were blown wide with confusion. In the mornings Beomgyu was quite non verbal, mumbling out replies when necessary. Yet even when puffy eyebags, blearly eyes, and a sleepy slur in his speech, Taehyun thought he looked beautiful. Fully dressed in baggy pajama pants and a loose shirt was Beomgyu in one of the most vulnerable states you could see him in.
Seeing Beomgyu in vulnerable states weren’t new to Taehyun, despite their vast differences in character, Beomgyu consulted in Taehyun quite a lot. Now that they have their own rooms, and have for a while, Beomgyu asks to come in, he didn’t really have to anymore at this point, but he did anyway. Sometimes he would just climb into Taehyun’s bed and lay beside him while watching whatever sports Taehyun was into at that time with him. Silently basking in the comfort of the other, he didn’t know how much it really helped, but he didn’t mind anyway. Other times he would immediately spill whatever has been bothering him, seeking for a solution, or sometimes just wanting someone to talk to without one. Taehyun has seen him sob uncontrollably, he’s seen sometimes just a single, tear fall from his eyes, or sometimes he’s only seen the face of a man who felt reverted back into a boy looking at him for some sort of help. And every variation of that pain was pretty on Beomgyu, he didn’t like it per se, but he could never view it as ugly either, because nothing about Beomgyu was ugly. Sometimes it was hard, but never ugly.
Knowing Beomgyu, the most beautiful person he knows, trusted him that deeply was painfully endearing, it made his heart swell in the most gut wrenching way possible. It made him happy to know that he was the small amount of people that got to know Beomgyu.
The way he put others before himself, and he did it so often. He went out of his way to isolate himself when he was sick so that he didn’t get any of the other members sick even if it were impossible to be apart from them. Taehyun knew it because he would sometimes find himself taking care of Beomgyu, watching snot nosed hyung cough and sneeze violently while also apologizing for each disturbance, as if Taehyun even cared. Taehyun got to coddle him even more, sick Beomgyu was a needy Beomgyu, someone who still wanted his hyungs’ attention, and if he couldn’t that he still had Taehyun who he heavy relied on, even if Taehyun knew deep down that he felt like he shouldn’t, because he was older. Taehyun thought he looked pretty, with swollen eyes, a hoarse voice, and red flushed cheeks from the energy it took to feel that bad. His hyung was so pretty.
He always tried so hard for everyone to like him, not that he had to, Beomgyu was lovable in every way. He was handsome, in a pretty way that made everyone look at him. You just had to, Taehyun concluded. Beomgyu had been handsome since they first met, immediately gaining Taehyun’s attention, and when he got to see how shy the boy was he knew he wanted to know him. Beomgyu’s loud personality was like a second gift, Taehyun thought he should find it annoying but he was immediately enamored. Beomgyu filled in silence for him, when he didn’t want to talk Beomgyu would, somehow telling him something new every day.
He got to see him in school, the handsome boy who strived to be someone everyone liked, and it worked. Of course it worked because this was Beomgyu, the sweetest person in the world, the boy who, like Taehyun, stopped to pet small animals, and greet people on the street because he was just that sweet. He got to see Beomgyu be whiny for his mother’s attention, or frown when he wants his father’s approval, or huff when he couldn’t see his hyung, because Beomgyu was loving, and it was easy to love him back.
Taehyun thought it was pretty the way Beomgyu turned his personal terrors into the prettiest songs, the prettiest melodies to ever grace his ears. He admired the way Beomgyu so easily managed to write and create lyrics that anyone listening to the songs he composed could feel his pain. The way he strummed chords Taehyun hadn’t heard before, his voice singing along sweetly, quietly, with that rawness that only Taehyun got to hear sometimes. Sometimes he shared with his members, but other times he went straight to Taehyun’s room, or invited the younger to his room, where he would gently tug Taehyun to sit on the bed beside him, and with the prettiest, sometimes scared eyes, he would tell Taehyun how he’s working on a new piece. And then he’d play, and Taehyun would soften up, and watch as if Beomgyu hung the stars in the sky, as he did. It was honest, and he was lucky enough to have that Beomgyu.
He got to know the Beomgyu who swore a lot, who was playfully competitive, who cried while watching dramas, who took pictures of everything he thought was lovely because Beomgyu was just a hopeless romantic like that. He saw things no one else did, he took pictures of his members like no one else could, solely because he saw them in a way no one else did, he saw Taehyun in a way no one else could. All of his beauty directed solely at the younger from time to time, like he could read him, like he knew what exactly was going through the younger's head.
He made jokes he knew only Taehyun would find funny, he bought Taehyun things he’d hardly hinted that he wanted, he’d tell Taehyun everything, he’d hug and cling to Taehyun knowing that the younger needed it, he’d take care of him and be taken care of because he knew Taehyun liked to dote on him. He knew Taehyun liked to spoil him, to listen to whatever his hyung says, playfully denying or throwing silly jabs at the boy just to see his lips pout in the most adorable way possible. He would let Taehyun playfully wrestle around with him because he knew how much Taehyun enjoyed rough housing, as much as he claimed to not like it, he always let Taehyun play around with him. And if that wasn’t enough for Taehyun to fall in love with him then he doesn’t know what is.
But he did know that nothing in the world could possibly make Beomgyu ugly, because he could never see his hyung, the most playful, endearing, and kind person he knows, as anything but pretty.
So, as he thinks this with Beomgyu curled up in his bed, dozing off on another soccer playback video on Taehyun’s phone, he turns off the video, tugging the older into his embrace, wrapping his arms around his shoulders as Beomgyu simply groans and wraps his own arms around Taehyun’s waist. Their legs tangled together, Taehyun’s nose buried in Beomgyu’s hair, he decides that Beomgyu is the prettiest person alive, that he hopes that forever, he will be able to have Beomgyu in his arms, letting himself be in his most vulnerable state. Because he loves Beomgyu, more than anyone in the world, the prettiest person he knows.