Sun & Moon

THIRTY TWO

"Oh, Taeyong, you're home?" A mellow voice drifts to Taeyong's ears as he enters his home. He sets his bag at the door and throws off his shoes, about to run to the kitchen before the voice stops him again. "Put your shoes away." Taeyong grumbles some non-coherent mess under his breath as he neatly lines up his shoes, but he is also smiling.

"Mom, you're home today!" he exclaims gleefully after rushing to the kitchen. She's sitting at the counter, drinking tea out of a small cup. Upon hearing her son's footsteps, she turns around and smiles.

"I left work early. I had an appointment."

Taeyong wraps his arms around her stomach, burying his head into her body. "I'm glad you're here." He closes his eyes and relaxes. Her clothes, a bit worn down but also soft from repeated washes, smell like clean linen and magnolia body spray.

"You're so sweaty. A bit stinky too." She laughs but hugs Taeyong back. "Had a game today?"

"Yes." Taeyong shakes his head as if he doesn't want to think about it. "They let me be catcher for two innings, but it didn't even matter! Sangook didn't even look at the hand signals and threw whatever he wanted!"

"Who's Sangook?"

"The pitcher!" Taeyong exhales indignantly. "Then after that, they forced me to go to outfield."

"Did you win?"

"Yes." Taeyong frowns but does not say anything else.

His mother laughs again. "Even though you might think you're best at something, your teammates saw what you would be better at. That's why they moved you instead of just making you sit in the dugout." She strokes Taeyong's hair and rests her chin on his head. "So don't worry, and don't feel bad."

The wrinkle between Taeyong's eyebrows disappear, and he can't help but smile again. "Hmm, you're right. I guess I'm just a player of many talents."

She always knows what to say to make me feel better.

"Yes, you are." Taeyong's mother releases Taeyong and sits up straight. "Now that I'm home, want to do anything?"

Taeyong grins slyly. "I have homework."

"One day of missing homework won't hurt." She pauses. "This is the only time you'll miss homework, right? You haven't been slacking off otherwise?"

"No, ma'am!" he says while laughing and saluting her. "Can we throw a ball around outside?"

"Of course. Anything for you."

. . .

"Mom, can't you throw a little straighter," Taeyong murmurs blissfully, not noticing the drool running down the side of his mouth.

"Taeyong, wake up," a firm voice says in his ear.

Taeyong shoots up straight, his head feeling a bit dizzy from the sudden change in altitude. He realizes he has been napping at his desk. The drool has leaked onto the scribbles on the notepad from yesterday, smudging the ink. "I was not napping," Taeyong says automatically, but he can't help but yawn as he does so.

"Seriously?" The producer glares at him.

"Sorry, I had a really bad headache. Tried to rest it off." Taeyong scratches the back of his neck. "Anyways, do you need me for something?"

"You're acquainted with Kim Doyoung, right?" the producer says, glancing at the drool on the notepad. "He was a reference on your resume."

Taeyong grins sneakily. "That he is! We're best buddies, joined at the hip-"

"Think you can set up an interview with him?"

Taeyong's grin falters. "Uhhh..."

"You wanted to get bigger stories, right? Well, now is your chance." The producer walks away without waiting for his response.

"Oh boy," Taeyong murmurs.

As if she is a goddess appearing in Taeyong's most dire need of help, Seulmin walks out a meeting room and rushes over to Taeyong's desk upon seeing him. "Hi Taeyong," she says gently. She smiles a bit. "Are you alright?"

"No." Taeyong sighs to himself as his eyebrows furrow together. "I think I just realized something. But I don't really want to think about it." He shakes his head. "Never mind, how about you? How's your internship? And your first semester is starting, right? That's a lot of stuff at once."

Seulmin only sighs back in response. "All I've been doing is taking notes and typing up information for Ms. Gwan. I mean, I've gotten a good idea of how she organizes the information she's going to say during her reports, but other than that... she doesn't even talk to me that much."

"And school?"

She groans. "I'm just glad this is my last year." Seulmin pauses for a bit, and the two settle in the quietness. "Would you like to go outside for a while? We can just sit down and talk," she says after a minute, in a shy manner.

A smiling Taeyong responds, "I'd like that."