Payphone | Dodam

given-taken

you, who burn me alive.

with each foot step he takes, doyoung tries his best to match the beat to his heart's thump. the act makes him walk faster, ahead of every student that is swarming out of the school by the second the bell rings. not once until he sees the big road's concrete cement does doyoung take his sight away from the ground.

no matter how many times and how long doyoung has done the same routine for, the red haired is content with observing the patterns cavern on the pavement he sets his feet on. perhaps, it is because he also finds it calming to appreciate the smaller scale of lives beneath what people's eyes tend to dismiss.

doyoung literally enjoys the little interactions.

by glancing from left to right and back again, making sure that no cars are speeding nearby, his feet gears up to cross the zebra painted street along with the crowd of students and workers. when he gets to the other side, doyoung shelters himself under the bus stop's roof as the once clear sky gets cloudy.

he quickly checks the schedule on the board wall after remembering the numbers from a glance at his digital clock. while he waits for the vehicle to route its way to him and home, a pair of wireless headphones settles its existence in doyoung's ears respectively.

with chill instrumentals playing as the background music, his creative imagination begins to absorb and shifts his waking vision.

unreal fantasy scenarios that are inspired from doyoung's everyday's chaotic surrounding start to create a full length movie–having himself as the starring main character, contrast to his uneventful mindlessness from being one with his surroundings. though most of the time, his tales never end happily. maybe because of the influence of his ballad or sad tone choice of music. 

though well.. that is not exactly the case.

doyoung plays a collection of his favourite albums–which contains a few of various genres, by the way–on shuffle. he never knows nor will he attempt to predict what song comes on queue into the anticipating future. premium membership who? indeed, that is not in doyoung's budget.

despite that, he prefers to have it as it is since he likes to carelessly let his feelings be swayed by the wavy tunes; it has something to do with the way he gets emotional easily. no part of his body can deny the fact that it is a perfect combination to support doyoung's expressive world. tiny gestured choreographies and the head nods are proof of examples.

the cherry on top of the ordinary day is the fallen droplets of rain. thankfully, the usual purple coloured bus appears on time, saving doyoung's body immunity from getting a fever.

***

after settling down on the double seat right beside the exit doors, he continues his daydream in the warm condition vehicle. these times are when the best of doyoung's mellow self is at its peak. calming sitting view, trickles of water racing one another on the window, the way the windshield slides side to side, the distinctive smell of rain and of course, the heart aching breakup songs.

these elements are a compilation of doyoung's definition of 'home', the invisible middle place in between school and the house—where his parents and him rent to live in. nature and journey are the perfect locations to ground himself within the overwhelming fast changes of a temporary stay.

doyoung thinks about the bitter flashbacks of his life.

it is no surprise for him as a student who has been constantly moving into schools more than what his fingers can count to end up being independent in his classes. the first few months are nice, since some–if not many–are excited to have an additional presence to their friend group or a new face to the building's capacity. everyone welcomes him with open arms and helps him go through difficulties.