Sun & Moon

TWENTY SEVEN

Days go by without much contact from neither Doyoung nor SBS. Taeyong's mind is filled with apathy, disquiet, and the slight heartaches of loneliness. He has spent his days in his bedroom, taking naps, or in Sungyeol's, watching him lose almost every round of any video game he plays. There's an aura of peacefulness, but it feels more like the calm before the storm. However, with nothing to do, Taeyong is urgently wishing for the storm to come out of nowhere and knock him off his feet.

Once again, he is in Sungyeol's room, lying on his bed and staring at the ceiling. He becomes conscious of his breathing and counts how many times he inhales before getting tired of that as well. "Hey, Sungyeol," he says after reaching 371. "Shouldn't you be reviewing?"

"Shouldn't you be working?" Sungyeol replies, without taking his eyes off of the screen.

"Thanks to someone, I don't currently have a job." Taeyong hums to himself before speaking again. "Let's say this works out. My salary will eventually triple what I made from before. Do you want to buy some new furniture? Or maybe, we can even renovate this whole place."

At these words, Sungyeol's hands falter, and he watches Hanzo shoot him down as he's unable to move. He swivels his chair around to stare at Taeyong. "What did you say?"

Taeyong sits up and glances at the screen. "You suck at Overwatch. Stick to League."

"I don't want to play with everyone else. They're bad." Sungyeol shakes his head as if reminding himself of what he really wants to ask about. "Anyways, what do you mean new furniture and that crap? You mean, if you get a legitimate job, you'll be staying here?"

Taeyong blinks for a moment before realizing what Sungyeol is saying. He scratches the back of his neck sheepishly and looks at the ground. "I mean yeah. Unless you want me out, I can just look for a place-"

"No no no!" Sungyeol urgently interrupts him. "No, you have to stay! I didn't think you would." He smiles at Taeyong a bit, unable to hold back his elation. "I thought you'd want to leave, but I'm surprisingly happy that you won't."

There is an awkward moment of silence before Taeyong begins to laugh. "Wow, look at you! All soft for me! What, do you have a crush now?" He jumps off the bed. "I guess you'd miss me a lot if I did leave!"

The smile falls from Sungyeol's face, and a look of stoic dissatisfaction replaces it. "Bro. That's gross. Forget I said anything."

Before Taeyong can tease his friend any further, he hears his phone ring from a notification. He takes it out to check, and he sees that it's an automated text from SBS. He gulps and glances at Sungyeol. "It's here."

Sungyeol's eyes widen, and he jumps off his chair to Taeyong's side. "Oh my God. I'll open it for you." As he reaches for the phone, Taeyong yanks it away.

"No way. You're going to trick me. My soft heart won't be able to take that."

"I won't. Promise, bro, it's between us men. I won't trick you."

"No."

"Please?"

"No."

The alteration goes back and forth like this for a few more minutes. Sungyeol stares at Taeyong before finally grabbing his phone and running away to the bathroom. Taeyong follows him but is met with the slam of the door.

"Don't worry, Taeyong! I'll tell you!" Sungyeol shouts between the crack of the door as Taeyong pounds on it.

At this moment, Taeyong realizes it's too late so he slumps down and leans back against the door as he waits for the news. Minutes of silence pass until Sungyeol slowly opens the door.

"So? What is it?"

Sungyeol stares down at Taeyong, with a hollow and aloof look on his face. He does not smile nor does he frown. He's even managed to somehow keep his eyebrows perfectly still. He looks so serious that Taeyong's stomach feels like it's going to explode from the tension.

"Sorry, Taeyong. I'm sorry." He bites his lip.

Taeyong quickly stands up. "Just tell me. I can handle it."

Sungyeol breaks out into a grin and starts laughing. "I'm very sorry that you're going to have to spend so much on furniture! The first thing I want is a La-Z-Boy."

Taeyong lets out a sigh of relief before punching Sungyeol in the arm. "You honestly scared me. You said you wouldn't trick me!"

"And I didn't!" Sungyeol says through wheezes of laughter.

Taeyong sighs to himself before chuckling. He joins in on the laughter as warmth and comfort envelopes him like a blanket.

. . .

Doyoung signs the last file on his desk before stretching his back out at his seat. He glances at the clock. He's worked overtime again.

He rubs his eyes before standing up to get his coat. Before he heads out the door, his phone rings. He picks it up as he takes the elevator down to his car.

He clears his throat before speaking. "I didn't expect you to call, dad."

"I wouldn't have, but this is a bit important. There's that new project you're in charge of. It's extremely important."

As Doyoung buckles into his seatbelt, waves of dread wash over him. "Yes, the resort one. It's unusual of you to call me about it, I've been doing fine on all my projects so far. I'll be very careful if that's what you're worried about."

There is silence before Doyoung gets his reply. "I'm not worried about that. It's good to see that you're doing fine then. We'll continue this conversation in person."

His father hangs up before Doyoung can reply. He is only confused and scared, not sure of what just happened. He is about to start driving when he suddenly receives a text message. At the sight of the sender, the feelings of adversity disappear and unknown to Doyoung, they are replaced with feelings of amenity.

Doyoung immediately replies, smiling to himself as he does so.

The manner of language makes Doyoung shake his head, but he puts away his phone and drives out of the parking lot, forgetting about any matter that had been bothering him before.