Sun & Moon

ELEVEN

The only thing Doyoung can do is stare at the dark, red liquid and the noodles in it. The sharp smell stings his nose. But he notices Taeyong lick his lips in delight, so he thinks to himself that it probably isn't as bad as he initially thought.

The store employee stands behind them, using his phone as a timer. "I'll start when you do."

Taeyong rubs his hands together and suddenly, Doyoung feels a twang in his stomach. He can't tell if it's because he's nervous to eat poor people food or because he has a desire to prove Taeyong wrong. He thinks it's both, but he quickly forgets the feeling when he sees Taeyong pick up his chopsticks. "Are you ready?" he asks Doyoung. Doyoung picks up his own and only weakly nods.

At the same time, they both pick up the noodles and begin to eat. Taeyong quickly scarfs it down, but Doyoung is in shock.

The noodles fall out of his mouth and back into the bowl. "I hate this."

By now, Taeyong has somehow miraculously finished his whole bowl, and Doyoung cannot even believe how that's possible when he's only tried one bite. Taeyong glances at Doyoung in slight shock, disgust, and also excitement. "What do you mean you hate it? You can eat frogs and snails, but you can't even eat the dish of the gods?"

"I have never eaten snails or fr-" Doyoung begins to say, but before he can finish, Taeyong grabs his bowl and finishes it within 10 seconds.

"Time!" he manages to spit out along with some chunks of noodles. The store employee stares at him in disgust and awe as he stops the timer.

"Uh, you win, it's free." He quickly scurries away.

"Did you see that!" Taeyong asks Doyoung. "We got free food! All thanks to me!" A smug smile appears on his face, the same of a child that gets more than four words correct in a spelling bee.

"That was so useless," Doyoung says exasperatedly. "I could have just paid for it."

"That wouldn't be as fun! This is the beauty of life," Taeyong says as he smiles more widely. "Commoners like us do stupid things for free food."

"If this is the beauty of life, then I want to die."

"Oh come on, you really think that was useless? Boring? The thrill of finishing spicy ramyeon in that little time is something you could have experienced if you actually tried it."

Doyoung starts to feel irritated again. Arguing over ramyeon seems like a waste of time when he could be getting some work done. "Enough. Do you have a ride home? I need to leave," he says, glancing at his watch. He had been worried about Taeyong waiting in the rain, but seeing how talkative he is now, the worry has been replaced with a sense of annoyance.

Taeyong stops smiling and glances at the empty bowls. "It's fine," he says with a shrug. "You can leave then."

Doyoung glances at Taeyong one more time, and the sense of annoyance is now replaced with a feeling of guilt. "Okay." He stares at the bowls as well for a bit before talking again. "Sorry for making you wait. Make sure you buy an umbrella." He glances at Taeyong one last time before walking out the store. As he leaves, he can't help but feel disdain towards himself for rushing up to Taeyong's side without even thinking. And he can't understand why he did so either.

Taeyong finally looks up from the bowls to watch Doyoung walk back towards wherever he parked his car. "I failed," he says with a dreary sigh, and he sits back down on the chair. "I'll just have to try harder then." He calls out to the store employee, "Hey, can I try beating my own record for another bowl?"