20Cm

MOONLIGHT.

TAEHYUN

The few weeks after the World Series win were filled with a string of celebrations, interviews for the media, and sleepless nights. Taehyun had a lot on his mind. The celebration parade in Oakland made him feel like he was on top of the world, but when he came back to his apartment after all of the partying, he felt a pit of loneliness sink in. His MVP trophy sat untouched on the kitchen table. When he first looked at it, he could feel the pride swelling through him. Now, he felt nothing, which was a concerning aspect. He had heard of all of the horror stories of athletes who felt so elated yet crashed after the feeling of accomplishment wore off. Taehyun hoped that he wasn't going down that path. It was wrong of him to feel so numb. Why did he feel so empty?

Unfortunately, Taehyun was sure that he knew the answer to that question. Ever since the dreadful interview he had with the SportsCenter hosts after winning the World Series, his mind had been on one person. That one person was his ex-boyfriend, and waves of nostalgia attacked him from out of nowhere. Taehyun thought about Choi Beomgyu quite frequently and dreamt about what they could've been. Back then, it was easy to get his mind off of him by playing baseball and focusing on winning a World Series championship. Now that he accomplished that, he thought about Choi Beomgyu even more.

Part of his guilt-ridden thoughts about their relationship lay in the fact that Taehyun was the one to break things up between the two of them. There were a lot of contributing factors to it, but mainly because Taehyun was scared of commitment. He should've known better; Beomgyu probably would've remained by his side. They could've celebrated his World Series win if they stayed together, but now Taehyun was alone in his apartment in Oakland with empty conversations of congratulations from friends and coaches on his phone.

To what do you owe your success? The question the female interviewer asked him ran through his mind and probed him relentlessly. Taehyun owed a lot of his success to Beomgyu, that was the truth. Coming to that realization was difficult for him, especially considering how the way things ended between the two of them. On one sleepless night, he decided that he was going to find Beomgyu to give himself some sort of closure. Beomgyu probably wouldn't want to see him, but Taehyun needed just one conversation with him in order to feel comfortable in his own skin.

After the craziness of the media and celebrations died down, Taehyun packed up multiple suitcases of clothes and other essentials. Today, he would be driving back to Los Angeles to spend time with his grandmother and half-siblings. He was on a break from baseball until February when spring training would start. He still had a lot of loose ends to tie up, specifically since he would be a free agent soon. His rookie contract with the Oakland A's was coming to an end. Taehyun decided not to let the contract talks get to him during baseball season, even though it was a highly discussed topic in his interviews. He gave the same generic answer recommended by his agent every single time. In reality, Taehyun didn't have a clue where he would end up next season. All he wanted to do was play.

While Taehyun packed sleepily and trailed around his apartment looking for stuff to include for his month-long trip to Los Angeles, he played the MLB Network on his TV. A talk show called Hot Stove was airing and the hosts were discussing upcoming offseason events and possible trades. The hosts were typically negative, as much of the media was. They critiqued a lot of players for simple mistakes. Making fun of their hot takes was a common form of entertainment in the locker room with the players. As much as Taehyun hated listening to his critics, he couldn't help but tune into shows like these.

"The Winter Meetings are sure to stir up some controversy this year," he overheard one of the male hosts say as Taehyun trudged around his apartment. "There are going to be a lot of moving aspects that can affect the next season of baseball."