At the dimly lit bar towards the back of the club, Doyoung sits at his usual seat, absent-mindedly tracing lines in the wood and taking small sips of his wine. Today, the bartender keeps his silence and doesn't say a word. The club itself is relatively crowded. It both blends Doyoung into the background yet contrasts him and sets him apart from the rest of the people. He takes another sip of his wine when his peace is suddenly interrupted with a text from his phone.
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After reminding himself to mute Taeyong's number later, he slips his phone into the pocket of his blazer and readies himself for the bombardment of questions. He sees Taeyong walking towards the bar. His glasses remain resting on his nose, but his hair is only slightly neater as if he ran a comb through his cherry hair once and was satisfied with it. Taeyong wears the same blue flannel from this morning, but he replaced the white shirt with a clean black one. Doyoung glances at the hole in Taeyong's black jeans; he can't tell if Taeyong is simply broke or fashionable. The thing that sticks out the most is the vibrant grin on Taeyong's face. The brilliant smile is the same as of a child getting his favorite candy.
Doyoung is absolutely terrified.
Taeyong sits down on the stool next to Doyoung's. He smiles at the bartender and says, "One beer, please. Straight up. And coke. On the rocks."
"You could have just said without and with ice," the bartender mumbles under his breath, but he gets Taeyong his drinks.
The whole time, Doyoung avoids looking at Taeyong. He traces the wood, but his palms are a bit sweaty. He takes a longer sip than usual of his wine.
"So!" Taeyong begins brightly after taking a long chug of his beer. "This is crazy. Skyline's next-in-line CEO asked me out on a date!"
Doyoung almost spits out his wine. "No," he says sharply. "That's definitely not it."
"I was joking." Another swing of beer. Taeyong's halfway done. "It was dumb of me to ask you how you got my number. You're rich. Duh. Of course, you have access to stuff like that. The real question is, why did you call me here?" He glances at Doyoung, curious and expectant.
For some reason, Doyoung can't answer the question. He would like to know the answer as well. "I don't know," he says after a while. "Why did I?" The question is more for himself than it is for Taeyong. He holds his breath for two seconds and speaks again. "You did something to me," he says to Taeyong.
A delighted chuckle escapes Taeyong's mouth. "I know I'm pretty charming, but falling for me that quickly is kinda-"
"No," Doyoung interrupts, feeling irritated. "Stop joking. Ever since you started bothering me, something feels off. I don't feel okay." Doyoung stares at the wooden bar again. "You did something."
"All I did was call you out for your lack of social interaction." Taeyong finishes his beer. "Maybe you're just lonely," he says with a casual tone, but the words hit Doyoung hard.
"Is that really it?" He shakes his head. "I don't care for that stuff. That's not right." Inside, he feels panicky and worried, but Doyoung's voice is smooth as ice.
Taeyong moves on to his coke and takes a small sip. "Why wouldn't you care? All people need someone to hang out with. Life would be so boring without friends and family. What's the point of living if you're not being happy with others?" He takes another sip of his coke and glances thoughtfully at Doyoung. "You might as well be a zombie with no purpose in life."
Suddenly, Doyoung finishes the rest of his wine all in one shot. "I don't understand." His voice begins to sound a bit anxious, and he feels himself losing control again. "If that's it, why would it be bothering me now? I've been fine before." He gives Taeyong a nervous look. Taeyong finds himself surprised; the usual stone-cold director is now a steaming train straying from its tracks.
"Maybe it was always bothering you," he says carefully. "And you just realized it now." He looks away from Doyoung and fiddles with his fingers. "You're a smart guy. It's obvious that all you do is work. You never focus on doing useless things."
"If it's useless, why should I do it?"
"Because it's fun," Taeyong says, suddenly feeling excited. "Listen, just because it's not something that gives you any physical benefits doesn't mean it's useless." He shakes his head and tries to slow down his words. "There are things that don't give you tangible benefits, but they make you happy. Like candy or games, y'know?"
"I despise things like that," Doyoung says tiredly.
"Man, you're missing out on the sweetness of life. You're not gaining anything from living this way. You're not actually happy." Taeyong, feeling determined, rushes his words. "I'll show you, just how much fun you can have from doing nothing."
The last sentence suddenly snaps Doyoung back into his lonely reality. "What am I even doing?" he murmurs to himself. He suddenly gets up and leaves.
Taeyong only smiles to himself, already planning what he would do next. He finishes his coke and walks out of the club with light steps.
