Sehun finished shoving his clothes into a bag and looked up at Kai’s bunk, his form unmoving as he slept. The blonde couldn’t stand the older dancer anymore, his black eye now a reminder of how reckless and cold hearted the brunette was. Irrational. Rude. Dramatic. Bitter. Lay told the two to pack their bags, saying that they were going on a ‘trip’, but Kai still hadn’t moved. That didn’t surprise Sehun in any way.

“Yah!” Sehun yelled informally, deciding that the older didn’t deserve his respect. “Pack!” He grabbed his pillow off of his bed and threw it at the still-motionless body with force. He turned after that and left without a word, seeing Lay standing at the entrance of the kitchen, laughing with some of the other dancers as they made lunch.

“I’m going to be gone for a bit now.” Lay sobered up from the joking and adjusted the knit sweater he’d changed into for the trip. “But I’m having one of my old friends come by and teach the basics of the choreography. I’ll video message you all as well, often, I hope. But this trip is important, I think…” He spaced off a little at the end of the sentence, lost in thought. He noticed Sehun standing next to him and turned to the younger.

“Ah! Ready?” He looked at the backpack Sehun had packed. Sehun nodded and tried to smile, but the whole left side of his face throbbed from the punch Kai threw earlier.

“What about Kai?” The name set Sehun’s face into a scowl and he shrugged, walking past Lay and to the exit. He didn’t want to talk about him. Or think about him.

He left the conservatory and went into the back seat of a car that was idling in the parking lot. He sat alone and in silence for ten minutes before Lay joined him, getting into the driver’s seat. They sat in an awkward silence for a few moments more before Kai exited the building as well, his shoulders hunched and hood drawn over his head to hide his face.

Sehun snorted and looked out the window, not sure why he wanted to hide his face, it’s not like he was the one with the black eye.

Kai got in the front passengers seat in an attempt to stay as far away from Sehun as possible, crossing his arms over his chest. Lay pulled out of the parking lot with a wave to the dancers who were standing on the front steps of the conservatory, waving goodbye to their teacher.

“Where are we going, anyway?” Sehun asked, his eyes not leaving the landscape that flew passed the window as the car cruised down a highway.

“A place very dear to me.” Was all Lay answered with, turning on the radio and letting a pop song play quietly over the speakers.

Kai pulled his hood farther down his face and leaned back in his seat, looking like he was going to try to sleep again.

Sehun put his feet on the back of the seat and every thirty seconds or so he pushed, not enough to be noticeable by Lay, but enough for Kai to get a slight jolt.

He’s slept enough, Sehun thought bitterly.

Maybe ten minutes into the drive Kai snapped, turning in his seat to glare at Sehun, “Cut it out!” He yelled, reaching back and smacking the younger’s leg.

“Cut what out?!” Sehun challenged, pushing on the back of the seat defiantly. Kai reached back to hit him again but Lay caught his arm, eyes still glued on the road.

“Sit back down!” He said, pulling Kai back. The younger obeyed and slumped back in his seat, letting out a deep and frustrated breath.

“So it begins…” Lay muttered to himself, looking at Sehun in the rearview mirror, though he was just staring out the window, face twisted into a glare.

This is why they need to take this trip. He can’t have his dancers acting like this. They need to get out of the social hierarchy at the conservatory. They need to break down the walls and connect in some way.

Earlier Lay didn’t know who he was going to take with him, he knew Kai, for sure. Kai was the reason for the trip, but he also wanted to bring one more dancer, one Kai was having problems with. In Lay’s mind, once he had the two befriend each other, then the rest would come easily, the only question was who the other dancer would be. He was initially thinking of B-Bomb, but when he found out of the black eye Kai caused, paired with the fact that the two had to solo together, Sehun became the obvious choice.

Kai turned back in his seat again to yell at Sehun and Lay blinked hard, a headache starting to form at his forehead.

It was going to be a long few days, maybe even weeks.

One thing was for sure, it was going to be a long car ride.

The short man sits alone in the diner his father had owned, looking at the empty tables and lifeless kitchen. It had been too long since he’d been there. Been too long since anyone had been there. But now he is. The amount of will and courage it took to enter Two Moons Diner was insurmountable, unbelievable. But he did it, and he didn’t know how he felt about it. His father’s death last year tore him apart, the man being the biggest role model to him. It became so much that he had to leave Bernal, had to leave the place where he was raised. His mother was heartbroken about it and his older brother enraged, but there was nothing more the man thought he could do. It seemed like the only option.

He left for the city and worked as a chef in a restaurant for about a year, grinding out moderate pay and living in an apartment next to a popular coffee shop named The Black Pearl—it was there that he met his two city friends. One was a barista at the coffee shop and the other a frequent customer. They were the two who gave him the courage to come back home, them and a letter from his mother. She’d gotten sick as well and the man wanted to be home to take care of her. He didn’t know where his older brother went, but he didn’t care. His mother needed him and that was what mattered.

He can’t stay at the family house, though. He refuses to. The memory of his father is too much. He can’t bare it. So he rents out a room of a house by the beach.

The home is massive, a mansion, really, and the rent is absurdly cheap, so he felt that he couldn’t pass up the offer. His two city friends came back with him as well, wanting to help him succeed and also searching for a slight adventure of their own. They rent their own place on the other end of the beach, a small cottage-like house.

But he is really home. He is in his father’s old diner and he ready to do what his father had asked of him. He’s going to run it and keep the business alive in his father’s honor, and he has help as well.

“D.O!” The man turns his head at the sound of his name and spots the brunette head of his barista-friend coming through the door, a warm smile fixed on his round face.

“What are you doing here so early?” The other comes in behind, his black hair slightly styled up.

D.O runs his hand over one of the metal tables gingerly. The diner was an old school western style with black and white tiles and red booths. It’s nice, but aged. The tables are covered in dust and booths stained with mold.

“I wanted to see how much work this place needs before we can actually open it again.”

“Xiumin-hyung will take care of it!” An arm is slung around the other, who just smiles at D.O, “He’s the neatest person I know.”

The youngest nods and stands, shoving his hands in his jeans pockets. “It’ll definitely take some work.”

“Lu-ge!” Xiumin pulls away from the younger and moves towards the counter, excitement on his face. He grabs a hand towel and lifts it up, showing it to his dongsaengs, “It looks just like you, Luhan!” He holds up the towel where a deer is embroidered at one of the corners, its eyes wide and with a slight sparkle in them. Luhan grins at this and imitated the expression, the two matching perfectly.

“Twins!” Xiumin says with a smile before throwing the towel over his shoulder. “Now… where to start…” He looks around his new project and scratches the back of his head, the strands of hair sticking up. He leans against the bar in thought but then stands up straight immediately. “Cold! Wet!” He reaches behind him and swats at his now-wet button-up shirt, jumping from foot to foot.

“I guess we can start there.” D.O smiles, grabbing another towel from the table in front of him and glad that he has his two hyungs to help him with the project of getting Two Moons Diner back to his previous glory.

D.O now lays back on the couch, looking at the ceiling of the living room. His room was up two flights of stairs and in the attic, but his legs feel like they were about to fall off. They’d spent the whole morning and most of the afternoon trying to get everything in order at the diner. Taking out all the old dishes and washing them, taking care of the broken ones, scrubbing the inside of the ovens and the tops of the stoves, taking down chairs and placemats, dusting off old menus. It was a lot of work, but D.O was certain that he could have the diner open within the next few days.

Before he could forget the man rolls over to the floor, twisting so he landed on his feet.

“Omma…” He mutters as he took his cellphone from the kitchen counter, another bonus of the house, besides the ridiculously cheap rent, was that that kitchen was completely massive, a dream come true for the man, really.

He leans against the counter and dials the number quickly, it was time for his mom to take her medication. He puts the device to his ear and waits a second or two until the ringing stopped.

“Hello?” The woman’s voice is weak and hoarse, making D.O’s heart ache.

He wants to live with his mom, to take care of her the best he could, but he can’t seem to stay in that house. The house where he grew up, where he laughed, joked, smiled, cried, yelled. The house where he played with his older brother and father, chasing each other around like fools. The house where his father died. The house where his brother yelled at him as he left. The house where every bad memory was. The house where everything that was good in his life ended. He couldn’t go back. Not for long, anyways.

He visits his mother every day, helped her clean and cooked her meals, but after about an hour or two it always became too much for D.O and he’d have to leave, always checking in on his mother later. She was sick, just like her husband was. He worried about her constantly. He’s reopening the diner for her, it was always her dream to have it run through generations or the family, but it took a little over a year to D.O to relent and come back. He had no regrets about it though, and that’s what mattered.

“It’s time for your medicine, Omma.” He says softly, biting his lip as he stares out the kitchen window, the sun setting on the sea beautifully.

The water glistens with the rays of light, the various waves and ripples glowing in a gold silk. The skies turning a soft orange, more vibrant around the setting sun and softening with distance, the orange changing into a light pink and then a pale blue. D.O then promises himself that he’d take his mom to the ocean someday when she was feeling better.

They’d sit on the beach and D.O would pack a picnic for them. It would be peaceful and calm. They could catch up without having to worry about D.O’s fear of his past sneaking up on him. But they can’t do that now. D.O’s mother can’t leave the house. Even a slight cold can be deadly for her at this point. D.O goes over to cook, but also disinfects most of the house, checking for any bugs or rodents that could transmit a disease. He even goes behind dressers and under beds to check for mold.

His mother misses the outdoors. She’d always sit on the front porch of their house and sing softly to D.O when he was a baby, his brother and father playing football in the yard. It was the first memory D.O can remember and one that was most important to him. One he will never forget. When everything was calm and everyone was happy.

He stayed on the phone for about an hour and talked with his mom, telling her how nice the diner looks already and that soon she’ll be able to come look at it when she feels better. He’ll serve her the first meal, even if he has to cook it and then walk it over to her bedside. After a while they bid their goodbyes and D.O ends the phone call, about to move to go upstairs when he hears key’s jingle and the front door open.

“Uh…” Walking towards the door, the man is confused, not knowing why anyone would be trying to get in. Sure, he was renting the house, but still, he didn’t have any warning of the owners come back or of another tenant for one of the open rooms. He makes it about halfway to the door before it opens, a man walking in with a suitcase in each hand.

“Oh! You must be Kyungsoo?” Suho smiles and bows his head to the younger man, shuffling inside the entryway a little awkwardly, him being the one who owned the beach house.

“Mm… Yeah...” D.O looks at the man warily, but bows back with a red face. “And you’re…? Joonmyeon?” He asks, hoping that it was and not some stranger who was moving in.

“Yeah, but you can call me Suho~” The man says in a friendly manner, looking around the house with a small smile. “Me and my friend vacation here every summer… I could’ve sworn I mentioned it before.” Suho frowns for a moment, but then smiles again. “I hope you don’t mind.”

D.O’s eyes go wide and he shakes his head, incredibly embarrassed as he waves his hands in front of his face. “No, no, I was just shocked, is all, really.” He murmurs, not wanting to offend his landlord, Suho being extremely generous already.

“Good, good…” Suho hums with a smile, seemingly breathing in the air of the place in content. “We probably won’t even be here often, just looking around the town and hanging with the locals, probably.”

D.O just nods and then looks up the stairs before back at Suho, blinking quickly with his big owl eyes. “D-Do you need help?” He asks tentatively, stepping back more as a taller man moves into the room. Kyungsoo’s mouth goes dry and he feels faint looking up at the man, starting to forget what he was doing for a few seconds.

“Hey, I’m Kris…” The Chinese says, having a few more bags than Suho and trying to carry them all in one trip. His hair is a little ruffled from the drive and he lets out a low breath, looking down at D.O.

“Mm…” The youngest can only manage a mumble and another bow, swallowing thickly and almost swearing that the other two could hear the pounding of his heart. Kyungsoo, having forgotten that he offered to help Suho with his bags, rushes up the stairs after excusing himself, his face beet red. “OH god…” He whispers to himself, forcing himself not to look back at Kris as he nearly trips.

“He seems… Nice?” Kris looks to Suho with a small smile, looking up the stairs and shaking his head slightly. The younger of the two nod and he pushes his bags over by the stairs, heading back to the front door.

“Let’s go and rediscover everything, Hyung~” Suho says happily, not waiting for an answer as he leaves the house, Kris obediently following behind, though he casts another glance behind him before closing the door.