Black boxer briefs with an oversized red t-shirt on top. No socks and no shoes because his nightmare apparently just wasn’t feeling in the mood to let Taeyong run for his life while also being fully dressed. It was a cold night. No, it was freezing. The seemingly endless hallways Taeyong ran down and through all felt below zero, despite the uniform rows of lockers and student body propoganda on walls all looking as normal as they would any other day.

His barefeet were numb, as if they had decided to sperate themselves from his body totally, leaving just two rigid ice blocks in their place. Taeyong’s forehead was drenched, dripping a salty, chilling sweat that curved down his face and into his shirt, his chest and briefs. The harder he ran, the more his chest hurt, starting to feel like a furnace was sparking alive within himself. Good because he needed the heat, but also bad since he was pretty sure it was going to send him into hyperventilation any minute.

Taeyong scurried, making a sharp right at the end of the hall. “Please no, not again!” He roared out, discovering yet another long, vague hallway that appeared to stretch on further than his narrowed, weak eyes could see. Still, he knew he couldn’t stop running, he couldn’t let Jimin get away. The impish boy had managed to bleed in and out of thin air, taunting Taeyong about how Jongin had suffered a horrible, bloody, slow death, without any hope that his best friends, Jaehyun and Taeyong would come to save him like they’d promised.

Taeyong had taken off through the high school after Jimin,  having no idea where the freak of a person had vanished to. In the midst of it, someone had latched onto Taeyong’s frantic trail, never moving more than a couple steps every other minute, yet staying on Taeyong’s heels.

The figure was getting bigger. Each time Taeyong checked over his shoulder, the follower was taller, it’s limbs seeming to become branch-like, looking prickly in some places and overly developed in others. It’s head was wide, with two bright red slits in the middle where eyes should have been. For a mouth, there was only another red slit, stretching wide, then shrinking back, displaying shark-like rows of teeth, matching the color of snow.

“, , !” Taeyong wrestled with himself, wishing he had the courage to turn around and face this growing shadow, but also knowing if he ran a little faster, if he thought harder, he could find Jimin and finally get an answer for everything. He was lying to himself when he said he didn’t want to know why Jimin stalked him, attacked his father and tried to kill Jonghyun. He was lying to everyone when he acted like he was back to normal, ready to get back to school, video games, looking at potential colleges and spending the weekend at cyber cafés with Hansol and Kun. That just....wasn’t true.

Taeyong, although not as scared as before, was still deeply troubled by how everything had abruptly started and ended. No. It had never even ended. There was just a comma, leaving the story unfinished.

Taeyong finally decided to stop chasing the version of Jimin he couldn’t even see. He one heel, finally feeling something in that particular foot again. Too bad it hurt like hell. Baring his teeth, both fists up, Taeyong roared at the misshapen, dark form coming at him from the other side of the halls.

Only there was nothing coming after him at all. That entire half of the hall had become nothing more than a dark wall, showing a grey, mirroed reflection of Taeyong. And someone else.

As if controlled by some third party, Taeyong’s body was turned back ahead. “Jimin!” Taeyong snarled, feeling like some kind of savage animal was going to claw it’s way out of his mouth, lunging at Jimin’s smooth throat.

“All these people...it’s a shame they all have to be attached to you.” Jimin said, using both index fingers to point at the dead bodies materializing around Taeyong’s feet. Dong-Wook, Jongin, Jaehyun, Hansol, Kun, Ten, Jonghyun, his step-mom and even the girl who lived a few houses down, Seulgi.

Taeyong stood still, watching in white hot fury as Jimin made his way through the bodies, causing them to catch on fire the moment any part of himself came in contact. “I’ll kill you!” Taeyong’s words were smashed together, sounding more like a sound than any language. He willed himself off the ground, right for Jimin’s relatively small body. A pair of dynamic, thick, royal blue wings were birthed from Taeyong’s back, ripping his shirt into bright red flames that overwhelmed the remainder of the hallway.

“Kill me and lose any chance of knowing where Jongin is.” Jimin grinned, totally pleased with himself.

“He’s dead, you bastard!” Taeyong reached out, prepared to grab Jimin’s skull.

“You can’t fly. Just like Jongin, your wings have been clipped.” Jimin said with a light laugh spilling out.

“Shut up, shut up, shut up!” Taeyong roared, his vicious hand meeting Jimin’s, dispelling his wings as well as the bright flames in a blink. Then the hallway and the rest of the school too. Everything blew away like fumes, leaving only Taeyong and Jimin suspended in darkness. In the way, way background, Taeyong saw those red, slitted eyes getting bigger. Closer.

“You said...when they arrested you, you said there was someone else helping you.” Taeyong struggled to get his words out right after each other. “Who...”

“You and Jaehyun didn’t care about Jongin. But I did. And so did he...” Jimin pointed at the red eyes coming into view.

“Who is he?!” Taeyong spat.

“You’re not his target. I failed and he’s moving on.” Jimin shrugged, fading away a second later. The bloody red eyes were coming at Taeyong, growing larger still. Bracing himself, Taeyong got to his feet and ran right at it, throwing himself into the red, desperate to fall on the other side of truth.

                Instead, he wound up on the floor. The carpet more specifically. The soft, whimsical smelling carpet that his step-mother insisted on having deep cleaned every other weekend. The smell was actually refreshing in that moment, allowing Taeyong to untense just enough so that he wasn’t about to burst a blood vessel. Before his eyes got a chance to adjust to the dark bedroom, the light switch was flicked on. “Jeez, sleeping can’t really be that comfortable, can it?” Dong-Wook said, just before crossing the room to return to his original spot.

“Dad, what the heck?!” Taeyong scrambled to cover his , dampened body with the nearest bedsheet. Literally just a sheet with some girly cloud designs on it. “What are you doing in here, you scared the hell out of me!” Taeyong trying to insert some bass into his voice didn’t really match with the blushing, ness his father was looking at.

As hot-headed and manly as Taeyong got over the years, he still just looked like a harmless puppy to Dong-Wook. Sure there was more experience behind the kid’s eyes, but not one trace of malice as far as Dong-Wook was concerned. And he liked it that way. It was a relief to see his son hadn’t began to show even a fraction of the darkness that the whole city saw on Jimin’s face each time the kid popped up on a news station or magazine cover. It was honestly shameful how much attention Generation City was giving to the freak, making his illness and evil intent into a daytime soap opera instead of what it really was, a crime!

“Oh really? I scared the hell out of you? Not the nightmare you were in the middle of?” Dong-Wook folded his arms, taking a comfortable seat on the edge of Taeyong’s work desk. His favorite big, ugly coffee mug with the skeletons on it was sitting beside him, half empty.

“I wasn’t having a nightmare for your information. Those are for kids.” Taeyong groaned.

“So you always kick and scream in your sleep?”

“Cardio all day.” Taeyong lied, starting to stand with the sheet draped over himself.

“Look, Tae, if you’re still..”

“I’m not scared, I’m not worried, I’m not traumatized. I’m fine.” Taeyong was wearing clothes again. Well, just a pair of basketball shorts from his bottom drawer.

“Look me in the eye and say that.”

“I just did!” Taeyong made a face, pouting as he slid back onto his bed.

“Well, do it again. Until I believe it.”

“Dad, go back to sleep. You need beauty rest just like everyone else.”

 Taeyong didn’t want to have this argument with his dad. Not with anyone for that matter. How long was it going to be before people let him go back to normal? Sure, he was still anxious, catching himself thinking about Jimin or Jongin all the time, but still, he didn’t want that to be the constant topic of conversation. At some point people had to go back to their regular lives. At some point they had to find something else to worry about besides him. Maybe the weather or gas prices. seems pretty easy to get ahold of these days. Is that something worth looking into? Either way, Taeyong was tired of his father and nearly every other person in Generation City looking at him like he was going to whip out a blade and slit his own throat because he was just that screwed up.

“You first.” Dong-wook smirked casually, reaching for the ugly mug to show Taeyong just how little of a rush he was in. “It’s only 1:27, if you go back to sleep now, you’ll still get about seven hours.”

“Not with you watching me I won’t.”

“Just think of me as a piece of furniture or...a dreamcatcher.” Dong-wook offered, lighting up at his quick thinking.

“A piece of furniture...in the living room? Or in the basement? Sure.” Taeyong fired right back.

“I’m gonna throw this coffee in your face!” Dong-wook said through gritted teeth.

“Then I’ll never get back to sleep.”

“Then we can stay up and braid each other’s hair.” Dong-wook could be just as petty.

“I’d rather take coffee to the face.” Taeyong pouted. “Besides your thin hair will probably fall to pieces the second it’s touched.”

“You little...” Dong-wook held himself back. “You know what, fine. Since it’s your last night sleeping here for a while, I’ll leave you alone.”

“Appreciated.” Taeyong fell onto his back, watching his dad with one eye until the man was halfway out the door.

“You sure you don’t want me to stay? I can set up a little pallet on the floor or something.”

“Dad. Jimin is behind bars. He’s not getting out anytime soon. Maybe ever. I’m okay.” Taeyong said, wondering if it sounded as uncertain as it felt.

“Are you trying to convince me or yourself?”

“I’m not trying to convince anyone, I’m trying to return to my regularly scheduled program. Ya know, normal.” Taeyong pulled the sheet over his face.

“Taeyong, normalacy is not going to come back to you overnight. Literally.”

“Never said that.” Taeyong countered. “I’m just saying, I’m not the only one who needs to get better. Worry about yourself too. Get sleep, go back to work fullt-time, eat, spend time with your wife again.” Taeyong didn’t really give a crap about Si-yeon, but he was positive she’d been bugging his dad about the loss of quality time together. Because well, she bugged him about everything all the time.

“I...” Dong-wook stopped himself, seeming to throw away whatever he was planning to say. A long minute dragged by before the older man flicked the light switch back off. “Good night son, I love you.”

Taeyong only hummed an agreement, rolling over. Even without getting out of his bed to look directly at it, he could see the quote scribbled on the inside wall of his closet. The words Jimin had said the night Jonghyun nearly died.

Friendship is forever....and it always comes back to you one way or another

                It was a chilly, but sunny Monday morning in Exodus City. It had been that way for the past few weeks. Pretty, peaceful weather that didn’t intrude on or wreck anyone’s plans. It didn’t matter though, since Exodus City was filled with people who moved fast, barely taking that spare second to appreciate things like weather...or spare seconds. The city was big, complex and lively, boasting a wide array of characters in every nook or cranny. There were the rich and elite, there were the common middle class, the endearing poor and then those who couldn’t even be defined by something as black and white as the amount of money they made or the size of their house.

 Artists, scammers, seniors, young adults looking for their independence alone, bitter seniors and even some who lived like young adults, drinking the night away at one of the local bars or pubs. Jaehyun’s parents used to be that way. A bit wild and a whole lot reckless, making messes as they moved from place to place. But not anymore. Well, mostly since his father, Ji-Sung was in jail and had been for the past eight years. Nine? Jaehyun had lost count...actually he never really started counting.

Now dating a prominent surgeon in Exodus City, Jaehyun’s mom, Chae-won had put away her cut up jeans, band tees and endless supply of flasks for deisgner shoes, sleek sports cars and brunch with the wives of Exodus City lawyers, judges, officers and professors. Chae-won didn’t even talk the same way anymore. There was a new air of importance and snottiness to her tone and word choice. Jaehyun supposed some of it had rubbed off on him. He felt imporant. He felt like he mattered a little bit more, or a lot more than other people.

Exodus City was the place he and his mother had grown up, but it wasn’t the same place to them anymore. They’d both stepped into some kind of new chapter book after Ji-sung’s arrest. Now that they’d both seen how the other side lived, they had no desire of falling back to the low class one-bedroom apartments where Ji-sung had stashed them away with no money in the bank, no idea when the lights were going to be cut off and no clue when he was going to go on the run again.

These days, Jaehyun and his mother were living in the surgeon’s old house while he got a new one built. You know, because rich men did that kind of thing. Built houses when they were bored so they had something to talk about when they got together at country clubs to pretend gold was fun. It was fine though, Jaehyun didn’t resent it. However, he always had a voice in the back of his head telling him this man, just like his biological father, wasn’t who it seemed to be.

Along with that little voice was another one...a much more annoying voice that would sometimes ask Jaehyun if he missed Taeyong. Or even thought about him. Jaehyun didn’t make time for that voice.

                It was 7:12am. Jaehyun didn’t know why he was so focused on the time this particular Monday. Every few seconds into his speech, his eyes would flicker over to the small digital clock sitting on the main work desk. “And so it’s with great pleasure that I announce that yes, we have been asked to orchestrate and host the Second Annual Red Exo Tennis for Tots.” Jaehyun pumped a warm bravado into his words, clapping along with his club members.

As President of the Young Professional Club (and a few others) Jaehyun was used to standing behind that podium, having everyone gaze up at him as if he was going to make or break the big perfect, routine bubble they all lived in. That was great sometimes, feeling that powerful and crucial to everything around you, but other times, it was too much for him. And he often wished he could be like them...just sitting there, letting someone else sit behind the driver seat.

The clapping weakened, but didn’t stop. They must have been waiting for him to stop first. “The committee were so impressed with the turnout and donations last year, they didn’t even have to give it a second thought. I’ve set the date for the same as last year, so let’s get to work on sponsors as well as other clubs on campus to get involved.” Jaehyun stepped down, at eye level with his eager club members all of a sudden. There were no more than sixteen of them, but still, it was more than Jaehyun felt like dealing with today.

Yawning, Jaehyun approached Doyoung’s desk, tucked in the far left of the room.

“Was that a yawn? Like, a real life yawn?” Doyoung’s big, expressive eyes did most of the talking for him. He had a slender but cute face with all his features seeming to fall into a heart shape somewhere in the middle.

“You caught me red-handed.” Jaehyun smiled with half his face.

“Don’t let anyone else see.” Doyoung was serious. With both sets of fingers dancing across his laptop’s keyboard, he worked diligently on...something. He was always working on something. Whether it was for himself or for the club or even another club at another school. Sometimes he worked on computers, other times it was smartphones, tablets, game consoles, cameras, cars or even robots.

Doyoung just had a sort of innate ability to create, destroy, disect and then start all over again. Really, it amazed Jaehyun, who’s mind didn’t always stretch as wide as his bestfriend’s.

“You’re dramatic.” Jaehyun shook his head.

Doyoung did the same, flattening his lips into a thin, dissaproving line. “For real, Jaehyun. Don’t you know? If you show that you’re tired, then everyone else thinks its okay to be tired..or hungry...or morons. Right?” He didn’t phrase it like a question. “Right.” But he answered it himself.

“Wouldn’t want that.” Jaehyun went along with his friend’s notion.

“Whoa.” Doyoung drew one palm back, using the other to click on something that shut him right up. Well, his mouth was still hanging open a bit. There was always something on the edge of Doyoung’s lips, a slick comment or fact poised on his tongue’s tip. “This guy...” He leaned back in the office chair, trying to decide if he was intrigued or grossed out.

“What is it? That Trump guy?” Jaehyun took a step closer to the laptop, narrowing his eyes at the screen. The stream Doyoung had opened was showing a busy court house entrance.

 Media and police flooded the walkway as an elfin looking boy was roughly walked out of the building and down the concrete steps. There was a strange current around the boy. It seemed like the media bended and warped around the boy’s innocent frame, getting dangerously close and then unconciously backing away.

The police weren’t so wary though. The men in uniform handled the rascally looking criminal (?) with hard faces and no ounce of caution, slanging him down the stairs. Even so, the boy in cuffs kept a pleasant smile on his lips, showing glimpses of squared white teeth here and there.

“He’s a total weirdo, you know? He stalked some kid our age in Generation City for months. Broke into his house, burned up a high school, identity fraud. I’m pretty sure he killed more than a few stray cats too...” Doyoung was saying it all while looking at Jaehyun, clearly having most of the information committed to memory.  “He put a teacher in the hospital and tried to kill the boy’s dad.” Doyoung finally glanced back at the screen with half his face, cringing when Jimin opened his mouth to speak in a high-pitched mock cute voice.

“LEE TAEYONG!” Jimin sang the words while being stuffed in the back of the squd car. “KIM JONGIN AND LEE TAEYONG TOGETHER FOREVER!”

Jimin’s last two words were cut off by the sound of the car door slamming shut. But it was the mention of Taeyong and Jongin that had Jaehyun choking on his own breath, fighting the urge to scream out in plain, straight-forward frustration. Those weren’t two names he had been the slightest bit prepared to hear...especially not from the mouth of this random creep on the internet.

 “What’s his name?” Jaehyun said, looking away the entire room for the couple moments it took to regain his composure.

“Hm..Park Jimin.” Doyoung shurgged. “But, a guy like him probably has twenty names.”

Jaehyun searched his memory, digging through years of names and faces in a matter of seconds. Nothing. Not one single person that resembled Jimin came to mind. So who the heck was he? Jaehyun, Taeyong and Jongin were a trio, never letting anyone else into their triangle of boyish secrets. It was what kept them close. All those secrets and promises. You don’t just share stuff like that with anyone.

“The boy he was messing with, what about him?” Jaehyun asked again. Doyoung’s eyes lingered on Jaehyun for an awkward moment, trying to gauge if Jaehyun was just making small talk or if he really cared about this.“Well?” Jaehyun got impatient.

“Taeyang? Taeyong, I think. Yeah, that’s it.” Doyoung scrolled around on the webpage, looking back at Jaehyun once, then twice. A third time when he noticed how the President had shut down.

Staring at a random spot of Doyoung’s desk, Jaehyun seemed to become some sort of great statue in that moment, crafted to perfection, but lifeless nonetheless. “Are you like, getting emotional over this random story?” Doyoung joked, scooting back a little so he bumped into Jaehyun’s crotch.

“Huh? No, I’m thinking about the Tennis for Tots.” Jaehyun lied.

“Then why’d you ask about the guy? Tae or whatever?”

“Why’d you open the link in the first place?” Jaehyun retorted right away, arms crossed.

“Because it sounded interesting, I like to keep up with the news.” Doyoung defended, a shy smile on his lips. He sort of liked arguing with Jaehyun, since he felt like one of the only people who could do it right.

“Well, I hope it was. Because you’ve got about three minutes before everyone starts asking you to help them design flyers and facebook pages for the Tennis match.” Jaehyun leaned closer to Doyoung, using two fingers to push the boy back to his desk.

“Dammit, don’t they have any idea what a tech specialist is? I’m not here to make stupid flyers.” Doyoung was mad, narrowing his eyes at the loud, obnoxius ‘young professionals’ scattered about the room.

“I don’t even think I know what a tech specialist is.” Jaehyun went to his desk, gathering his things into hs black leather messenger bag. It was understated but designer. A gift from the surgeon that had actually proved useful. “I’m gonna meet with the Principal about yesterday’s open mic event.” He slung the bag over his shoulder, counting the steps until he was out the room, free to freak the hell out.

“Open mic night? You mean my official debut!?” Mark Lee said, quite literally crashing into the club room with Haechan, his best friend. They had tried to enter at the same time and ended up stumbling over the other like a duo straight out of the comics.

“Dude, you killed it! I mean, I’m not saying I’m SM Entertainment or anything, but I’d sign you.” Haechan fist bumped Mark.

“SM ,JYP, Cube, they all want me. They just don’t know it yet.” Mark bragged, striking an obnoxious pose that nobody really paid any attention to. “Undiscovered superstar right here.”

“Oh, oh, YG!” Haechan jumped up and down.

“Dude, hell no, they like, lock their trainees in a basement with nothing but white bread and mineral water.” Mark slung himself onto Doyoung’s lap, causing the office chair to go swirling halfway across the room. In Doyoung’s place, Haechan pulled up a chair in front of the desk.

“Look at me, I’m Doyoung, I hack into the United Nations and send Tom Zoolander love notes about how smart he is.” Haechan did his absolute worse impersonation of Doyoung, even making his eyes extra wide.

“I don’t sound like that.” Doyoung had a slap fight with Mark. “And his name is Mark Zuckerberg, you idiot!”

“Oh, well where did I get Zoolander from?” Haechan wondered.

“We watched it a couple days ago, dude!” Mark laughed out loud.

“Nobody cares about your nasty film marathons.” Doyoung pushed Mark off, scooting back to his desk with enough speed to knock Haechan over.

“Now he’s the idiot, Zoolander is not even a o.” Mark yelled.

“You’ve seen it, right, Jaehyun?” Haechan asked, getting back on his feet. “Jaehyun?”

“He’s gone. You know, doing mature, President stuff?” Doyoung snapped.

“Oh, why don’t you marry him already.” Mark giggled.

“Doyoung would make such an ugly bride!” Haechan barely got the sentence out, short on breath from how hard he was laughing.

All the way down the hall, Jaehyun could still here them...althought his mind had gone somewhere completely different. Was he worried about Taeyong? “No, no, it’s gotta be a different Lee Taeyong.” Jaehyun nodded to himself until it felt somewhat true.

                Taeyong had made a mistake. It had seemed like a good idea in theory, but now that he was staring at the red faced, sobbing boy, he know for sure that it was a big mistake. On his end of the webcam, Taeyong cringed, watching Chittaphon sniffle, choking on his words, which were mixed with some Thai phrases here and there. None of it made sense to Taeyong.

“Do you have to be so dramatic?” Taeyong asked over the sound of Chittaphon, or as mostly everone called him, Ten, blowing his nose into a folded up tissue. “I mean, it’s not like I went to the army or came back from the dead. I just talked to you two weeks ago.”

“I just....I just...it’s just...” Ten blew another wave of emotions into the tissue. “I missed you, okay? Can you please not make me seem like a weirdo for that? I’m allowed to miss your dumb .” Ten’s side of the video chat lagged a bit, making it look like he had two faces for a moment.

“Well if you’re going to have an emotional breakdown, at least wait till I see you in person.” Taeyong said.

“Aw, see, that’s more like it.” Ten smiled, wiping away the last of the tears on his face.

“So I can get it on camera and blackmail you in the near future.” Taeyond added.

“You ! A person, a real live person... shows some affection for you and you start thinking of a way to blackmail them!” Ten threw his hands up in frustration. “Why are you like this?”

“Oh actually, I’ll just take screenshots on here.” Taeyong clicked the chat’s screenshot button, capturing every stage of Ten’s teary anger casually. “Save this one and put them all in a folder right here.” He was pleased with himself, naming the folder TenMail.

“You know what, get here quick so I can pop you in the face.” Ten bared his teeth some.

Taeyong recognized Ten’s surroundings well. The dance studio at Red Exo High. Ten spent a lot of time there, practicing so hard sometimes he didn’t have any time to sleep before he had to wake up and start his day all over again. The two of them had met in Generation City, back when Ten transferred to Taeyong’s high school. Even though they bonded fast, able to laugh at themselves as much as the other, Ten didn’t stay long and moved once his father came back from Thailand, deciding he liked Exodus City better.

 Taeyong thought about Ten a lot when he was being stalked by Jimin. He was always grateful Ten had left the city before all that madness began, knowing how horrible he would have felt if any collateral damage had come to the playful Thai boy.

“You’ve never been able to beat me up. I can’t imagine much has changed.” Taeyong teased, noting the time in the corner of his laptop.

“Oh okay. Say that when I’m on top of you.” Ten shrugged, obviously bluffing. “Huh?” Ten became distracted at someone calling his name. It sounded like a girl. An angry one. “I’ve gotta go, assface, make sure you text me when you’re in town.”

“Yeah, yeah.” Taeyong smiled despite himself. He wanted to appear apathetic about it all, but he couldn’t fake it for long. He was excited to see his friend again. It’s what he needed. Not just Ten. But the big chunk of normalcy that came along with him. “And yeah, I missed you too.” It was too late, Ten had already ended the chat. “Now who’s the ..” Taeyong shut his laptop, taking a short look at his luggage in the corner of his nearly empty room. Whatever he was about to say to himself was cut off when he smelled breakfast.

                “Yes, you have no idea how good it feels.” Si-yeon was on her cell, pacing around the kitchen in a knee-length whte dress that looked almost painted on her skin. “Finally, I don’t have to sit around this house pretending to be someone’s mother, I can be a wife. A hot wife to boot.” She laughed childishly to the other woman on the phone. When Taeyong entered, she changed the topic to handbags, avoiding Taeyong completely.

“I know I smelled bacon..” Taeyong was confused, sitting at an empty table. Turns out, he wasn’t wrong. But of course Si-yeon had only made enough french toast and bacon for herself. Taeyong shouldn’t have been surprised. Lethargically, he got up and grabbed the biggest bowl in the cabinet with one hand, and a spoon with the other. his lips, he reached into the walk-in pantry for cereal, not even caring which box he pulled out. Suprsingly, he’d slept like a baby and was now starving.

“Taeyong, get your shoes on, we’re leaving in five.” Dong-wook entered, one phone up to his ear and the other clutched in his palm. Dressed in a light brown twead brown suit, Dong-wook looked back to normal. Hair styled, face obviously moisturized, gold expensive watch and shimmering black dress shoes. This was the version of his dad that Taeyong was ost familiar with.

“But I wanted to have breakfast first, maybe watch a little Pokemon.” Taeyong halted in the middle of the kitchen, suddenly feeling like the bowl and spoon were miles away.

“Aren’t you a little old for Pokemon? And no, I want you get you on the earliest train possible so you don’t miss your first day of school.” Dong-wook set both phones on the island, kissing Si-yeon on the forehead a second before she excused herself from the room. Where the heck she was in such a rush for was a mystery to Taeyong. All she ever did was get manicures, then rush out for a pedicure.

“Heechul is a bit of a spazz, so I don’t want him waiting long.” Dong-wook went on, looking his son up and down, trying to be discreet about his inspection. Sometimes he just felt like Taeyong was going to shatter right in front of him.

“Nobody is ever too old for Pokemon, first of all.” Taeyong started. “And second of all..”

“There is no second of all. We’ll get breakfast on the way. Now, go get your things from upstairs.”

“Where’s the fire?” Taeyong tossed the cereal box on the counter sloppily.

“You’re the one who wanted to go back to normal, right? Normal people rush, normal people go to school.”

“On second thought, maybe I do need a week or two off for mental health.” Taeyong cheesed, pretending to stumble about.

“I’m glad one of us woke up with a sense of humor.” Dong-wook drank from a coffee cup Si-yeon had prepared. At the first sip, his entire face seemed to peel in disgust. He set the mug down and began a new pot.

“Don’t I always? You know what they say, if you’re not laughing, then you’re dying.” Taeyong said it with gusto, throwing his fist into the air.

“Taeyong, nobody says that.” Dong-wook moved about, unable to find his favorite ugly mug. Si-yeon returned, drinking orange juice out of the signature mug, still talking about the damn handbags.

“Aw, sweetie, that’s for coffee only.” Dong-wook muttered, knowing she wasn’t going to make an effort to give him his mug back. It was an good as gone.

“Do they sell cereal at Mcdonald’s?” Taeyong asked.

“You’ve got until this coffee is brewed. Then we’re leaving. No ifs, ands or buts.” Dong-wook was firm about it, despite Taeyong dancing around in circles.

“What’s the forecast?” Si-yeon grabbed the kitchen remote from the island drawer, turning on the televison hanging above the entrance. She ended her phone call with a simple “bye”, catching Taeyong’s eye for a snap.

“Hopefully nice and hot.” Dong-wook mumbled at Si-yeon, followed by something a bit more flirtacious.

LEE TAEYONG AND KIM JONGIN TOGETHER FOREVER

Jimin’s sing-song words richocheted off the kitchen walls, ing the small family into a hefty, almost suffocating silence. Taeyong dropped his spoon, making a loud clank against the rim of his cereal bowl. Jimin’s face stayed splattered across the screen as Generation Daily reported on the story for what seemed like the thousandth time in that week.

“Turn it off.” Dong-wook said, perfectly still.

“The remote is acting weird.” Si-yeon could have been lying. She could have been telling the truth.

“Turn it off.” He snatched the remote away, doing it himself.

“Sorry.” She mouthed.

“Taeyong...” Dong-wook stepped around the island, suddenly doubting everything. Was sending his son away right? Was he supposed to stay in Generation City and be close to his father? Was Dong-wook even supposed to be going back to work so soon?

“It’s okay.” Taeyong’s words were a wall, stopping the older man abruptly.

“No, no it’s not.” Dong-wook said.

“This is my normal now.” Taeyong said it more to himself than anyone else.

BACK 2 U (1:27AM)

*Author Note*

First off, thank you to anyone and everyone who subscribed to this story or left a comment! Also, anyone who casually decided to take a look to check it out, thanks! I know I haven’t written anything in a while since my last fic, so it’s nice to see people still subscribed or stuck around. To be honest, I was never 100% dedicated to this story, so I’m planning a lot of it on a whim as I go. Still, I think I’ve got some strong and interesting ideas for it. So, subscribe if you have not already!

I introduced some new characters in this update that are going to be regulars as well a some who won’t. You won’t be reading much about Taeyong’s parents again from this point on haha, but Jaehyun and his friends are here now! By the way, if you can’t tell, this is going to be a thriller/romance. I want to say there’s a mystery element as well, but I’m not going to be too heavy on it.

Anyway, I hope you liked this update and I’ll continue to add to it somewhat weekly since it’s turning out to be a breeze. BYE!