Creator: Transients
Words: 3615
Site: AO3
Description:
Seven point five billion people in the world. Some people just give up. Jung Hoseok is one of them. He meets Kim Taehyung.
Story:
Jung Hoseok thinks life is simple, set in black and white.
Not everyone can have the world work the way that they want to, some things just don't work out for some people. Hoseok's one of them; he had to attend business school, get a major in accounting, and now he works at one of the biggest finance firms in the city.
The income is good, his apartment is on one of the highest floors of one of the most expensive buildings in the city, and his bank account figure is a ridiculous one that he had certainly never dreamed of. His car is expensive, but practical, and he gets the leather seats cleaned frequently. He doesn't wash the vehicle himself, he certainly doesn't maintain it himself, and he probably didn't need to drive himself around either.
He has everything he needed, but the past comes back to haunt him sometimes.
Phantom sweat dripping down the back of his neck, the vague stink of thoroughly-soaked shirts, the slamming of soles against wood floors echoing in his ears; it takes him back to when he was fifteen, his hair dyed an embarrassing bright red, a snapback on his head and a plaid shirt tied around his waist.
Back then he didn't know the world outside of a dance studio, where he would watch himself in the mirror, practicing and practicing until his muscles ached and he could only lie on his back, grinning dopily at the ceiling. His life was measured in pairs of converse shoes, piled up in numerous shoeboxes stacked in the back of his closet; the soles worn out, the colours faded, the laces stained from sweat. He had watched the number grow as he was promoted from background dancer to one of the centres and eventually, the captain who choreographed his own solo performance during his final year of high school.
That was the last year that Hoseok bought a new pair of converse.
Seven point five billion people in the world. Some people find happiness, some people suffer; some people become important figures to lead, some become the terrors that are made into documentaries.
Some people just give up.
Jung Hoseok is one of them.
---
He takes five steps back, gives up his dream, gives up his happiness for a future.
University hadn't been tough, the business course had not as hard as he expected, and his girlfriend had not even cared about whether he remembered their anniversary. Hwayoung was sweet and patient; she always remembered his exam dates, brought him food when he had his nose buried in his accounting notes and equations. She had stayed with him all the way, through graduation, his first job, up till now where he was the head accountant of Kim & Kim Finance Incorporated.
Now, he's sitting opposite Hwayoung, picking at the ravioli in his bowl, trying to smile at her through his heavy eye-bags weighed down with lack of sleep. She was lovely as ever, her hair dyed a pretty caramel and styled in waves down her back. She had talked about her day, nibbled at her salad, and smiled at him, her lips barely losing its shine because food hardly touched her mouth. Hoseok had not paid attention much, just nodded at the appropriate places, and tried to keep his mind from drifting back to the pile of paperwork on his table.
She had leaned across the table, taken his hand in hers and smiled at him so sadly that it had gotten his attention immediately. When he had lifted his head to really look at her, he somehow knew what the words coming out of her mouth would be.
