Sun & Moon

TWELVE

"Where were you?" Sungyeol asks as Taeyong steps inside their home. He shakes off his 3,000 won umbrella before bringing it inside and throwing it away in the trash. "It's late, did you bring dinner?"

"No, but I ate already. I had three bowls of ramyeon." Taeyong sits down on the worn-out couch next to Sungyeol. Suddenly, he feels exhausted and tired. He takes out the hot packs from his hoodie and relaxes into the seat.

"Did you bring any for me?"

"No. I broke our record from last time."

Sungyeol's eyes widen. "By how much? You didn't do it by a lot, right? I told you, we have to decrease it by two seconds each time so that we can beat it whenever we go."

Taeyong closes his eyes, and his mind wanders to thoughts of Doyoung. "We're never eating free ramyeon again. I was trying to impress someone, so I went all out." Before Sungyeol can even begin screeching in protests, Taeyong gets up and waddles to the restroom.

As he takes off his clothes and turns the hot water on, he thinks of how cold and confined Doyoung is. He steps into the shower and ponders on why Doyoung keeps pushing him away.

Taeyong has always been friendly and outgoing. Since birth, he would make connections with people in the blink of an eye, and he somehow had this ability to understand someone just through one conversation. Reaching out to people is something he actually enjoys doing.

But Doyoung is the complete opposite. He builds a wall around him for no reason and whenever Taeyong tries to climb over it, Doyoung pushes him over and builds a higher wall around the first.

"I don't care for that stuff."

At least that's what Doyoung said. He said he doesn't care about being alone, but everyone cares about that. They have to.

Right?

Taeyong steps out of the shower and grabs a towel to put around his waist. Doyoung has also always been a hard worker. He works like his life depends on it. But to Taeyong, there's no use in working hard if the outcome doesn't make you happy. And Doyoung certainly does not seem happy. He seems worn out, like a marker stain on a wall that a parent tries to wash away but just can't.

By the time Taeyong puts his glasses back on, he's come to a resolution. That he absolutely must break down every single wall Doyoung has. No matter how many more he'll try to build, Taeyong will knock them all over in order to make the connection.