worst day ⁀➷ doil

CHAPTER TWO

misuk was scared.

the text messages from her parents were flooding in constantly, talking about the same stuff over and over again about what was happening in korea and how lucky she was to be in japan at the moment. they weren't so lucky, were they?

neither was her little brother.

she felt so bad about how she treats him at times. he's so sweet and all, but misuk's finding it harder and harder to talk to him and share things with him. heck, she barely keeps in contact with her parents ever since she got married. they were so close before, weren't they? her brother... well, he got the worst end of the stick. regret was gnawing at her and now with the outbreak happening, she should call him.

so, she does. a few times. maybe three, perhaps five, probably even ten. misuk lost count. every time, taeil did not pick up. the ringing that ended with no voice from the other end was discouraging. he's mad at her, isn't he? misuk thinks he has every right to be so, but at the same time, he could at least hear her out, even briefly. she needs to know if he's okay as she sits in the living room of her sister-in-law's house, her nephews throwing toys around and screaming at each other in high-pitched japanese.

less than music to her ears.

at least her view wasn't bleak and dark. taeil's was. there was still a slight hint of nausea as he laid down under his covers, an untouched bowl of soup sitting upon his nightstand. it's starting to cool, the light steam once emitting from it long gone. if he were to touch the spoon with the soup to his lips, it would barely be warm anymore.

it was a nice gesture from doyoung. he gave it to him while asking if he felt like he was going to throw up again. at the answer of 'no', he still brought the trash bin from the bathroom with a 'just in case' excuse before leaving while flashing him a pretty smile before the door closed and hid his face away from taeil's tired eyes. doyoung hasn't come back to check on him yet. perhaps he thinks he's sleeping and not even trying to eat.

taeil didn't sleep. he simply just inhaled the smell of the soup while trying to hide himself under the covers in the uncomfortable dim light. seeing that infected made him feel so sick to the stomach twice in a row. it was something about the way he looked, with that missing eye. the bloodshot, bulging eye full of pure rage and underlying hunger was one thing, but the gross emptiness of the second socket where the eye should've been threw him off the edge.

bottom lip trembling, he tries not to think about it, hoping he wouldn't get sick again. something's gonna wanna worm its way back up again, even if he hasn't even eaten anything. it's vile. the smell, the taste on his tongue... everything.

no more misuk and the thoughts of calling her. no more one eyed infected man. only doyoung. or nothing at all but the overwhelming feeling of despair.

no, he won't call misuk back.

"taeil?" doyoung's back again, voice softer than ever. his footsteps are light against the carpeted floor. taeil doesn't look at him at first but he's drawn to when a light hand touches his cheek and doyoung's face is closer than ever. "are you okay?"

"yes," taeil rasps.

there's something about doyoung. he has the jokes, good ones along with dumb ones, the sarcasm, and the comforting voice and words in the right moment.

"just... just making sure," doyoung continues and he retracts his hand away. "i don't even know why you threw up. you don't even look sick."

"infected," taeil whispers. "i kept seeing it over and over again. it won't leave my mind like some annoying bug in my head."

"oh, is that so?" doyoung looks uneasy. "i don't mean to look but i—uh—looked again. there's more of them now. it looks like there's more of them that appeared."