(Daehyun's Perspective)

When he checked his phone after closing up on Wednesday night, Daehyun saw that he'd missed a call from his umma during his manager shift. Calling back at that point was out of the question because there was no way she wasn't already asleep, so he decided to return her call the next morning.

Not right when he got up with the sun because she'd still be asleep then, and he didn't want to risk upsetting her by waking her up. Which was the exact reason he wasn't calling back immediately upon seeing her name in red in the recent calls list. She was probably angry enough as it was for being sent to a not set up voicemail box!

If he had to guess, his umma called to inquire about the whereabouts of the April payment.

He hadn't sent it obviously, but he'd also been too preoccupied to figure out what to tell her. Him saying he wasn't going to be paying it anymore wouldn't go over well for certain, but the thought of lying and her seeing through it made Daehyun's shoulders tense in a way that not even a hot shower soothed completely through.

Telling her he hadn't sent it because of monetary issues on his end could work... She'd definitely pull out her disappointed tone, but providing a realistic situation as to why he couldn't pay was a lie that sat better with Daehyun to tell.

After a night of restless sleep, a few hours distracting his hands by crocheting and using that time to get his thoughts less scattered, Daehyun was staring down his phone and mentally preparing himself for the conversation to come. He fortified his walls as best he could to protect his soul and pushed away the dread that was already starting to creep up from imagining how the call would go.

He decided the longer he sat here staring at the phone and not actually calling, the worse he'd feel. So with a resigned sigh, he clicked to call.

Daehyun didn't even have to wait a second for her to answer, niceties out the the window as usual. “Daehyun, care to explain to me why you didn't answer yesterday?” At least she was the type to get right to the punch? That did make it easier to get things done quicker...

At the mental reminder to keep calm and not let the nerves get at him, Daehyun steadied his breath and responded, “I worked late, and I didn't want to wake you up by calling back when I got out.”

It was a satisfactory answer if her dismissive sigh was anything to go by. “Now tell me, is there any particular reason we haven't seen last month's payment?” she inquired, tone of voice sharp like a cutting knife.

The bladed words cut into him a bit, enough to rattle up his nerves and mess with his ability to speak clearly, but not enough to make Daehyun forget the lie he'd decided upon. “I-I uh... I had some car troubles that were um... pretty ex-expensive fixes,” he stammered. It was realistic enough a situation, and she couldn't prove he was lying about it, but her lack of response was unsettling, so Daehyun ended up rambling a bit more. “I-I mean, if I sent a payment, it wouldn't have been a lot? A-and you told me that I may as well send nothing if it was such a low amount-”

“Daehyun, be quiet,” she demanded, tone developing more of an edge to it. Reminding her of her own words probably wasn't a good idea, but it was satisfying in a way. Daehyun pressed his lips together firmly and waited for his umma to speak again.

It surprisingly took her a bit, like she didn't know how to respond to her son using her words against her, and when she did speak again, it wasn't even in that vein of questioning! He counted that as a small victory. “Daehyun, we have a proposition for you.”

Daehyun's brows furrowed in confusion as he squinted at nothing in particular. He wasn't exactly sure he wanted to know what sort of proposition his parents had concocted, but he didn't want to risk getting yelled at for not listening. Especially since he'd just proven to her that he did actually listen, unlike she thought. “A... proposition?”

“Yes, your appa and I have decided to give you an alternative way to pay back what you owe us,” she declared. Words that nearly made him splutter, and a part of Daehyun thought he might be in the middle of a dream because there was no way his umma had just said that! “All you have to do is go on a cruise with us, Daehyun. Do that, and we'll consider the debt paid.”

The gears in Daehyun's head were turning rapidly at trying to figure out the logistics. Cruises were expensive. They'd probably have to fly to where the cruise was leaving from, and flight tickets were also costly. “I-I can't afford the tickets necessary for that...”

Panic started to rise up in Daehyun's chest because he was being handed an opportunity to not have to figure out various excuses on why he wasn't able to pay them until they saw through the lies, and he probably wasn't going to be able to take it! Even if he dipped into his emergency funds! 'Of course that would be my luck-'

“Oh, you don't need to worry about that. We've already purchased the tickets, yours included,” she said. “All you have to do is check in at the airport.”

Those turning gears in his head started to jam up with those too good to be true feelings. His parents would never do something out of concern for their son's well being, so there had to be some sort of catch to this...

But it was his best bet for being able to cut them out of his life without them ever being aware of his silent disobedience, so there was no way he wasn't going to take it. “So uh... when is this going to be happening?”

“The cruise will last for two weeks. The flight to get there leaves tomorrow at noon.”

“Tomorrow?!”

“Jung Daehyun, did you just raise your voice at me?”

“N-no! I'm- I'm sorry, I just-” Daehyun swallowed nervously, the jam ups in his brain bordering on sending his body into full panic mode. “Th-that's really soon? I-I don't know if I'll be able to get the time off for that with such short notice,” he squeaked out.

“Well, if you don't, then we'll be adding the money spent on your tickets to the total amount you owe us. And we won't be giving you another charitable opportunity like this,” she added lowly.

And there was the catch! Or the catch added onto the catch of this happening so soon...

Daehyun bit back the panicked exclamation that they should've made sure he'd actually be able to make it before purchasing the tickets. 'Or maybe that's their leverage to make sure I go?' The idea of more being added to the total that erased all of his progress and then some was something that hit so drastically that part of Daehyun was willing to quit his job and worry about finding a different one once the debt was absolved...

He liked his job at Shortstub's, so he'd rather it not come to that. “I-I'll figure it out,” he said dejectedly.

“Good! I'll send you a message with the details.”

And then the call was done, and Daehyun was left alone with his thoughts.

Daehyun barely got his phone set onto the counter before he slumped down onto the stool by the counter, planted his elbows onto the hard surface, and rested his forehead in his palms. His fingertips tensed, blunt nails lightly digging into the skin of his scalp before he tugged at his hair in exasperation. Surges of panic came from all sorts of directions!

That foggy feeling masking his brain, the alternation between his ears ringing and then feeling like they were stuffed with cotton balls, the way his vision blurred and turned to static at the edges...

He gulped down the forming lump in his throat and decided he didn't have the time to be sitting here panicking. He couldn't let his panicky nature get in the way of him figuring things out. He was on a time limit! So Daehyun shot up and made a glass of water before downing it and making another to sip at while he ruminated.

Working things out with Hyosung would probably be the easiest part. All he had to do was talk with her, and he stared at his phone a good few minutes before spurring himself into action. He wanted to give her as much forewarning as he could, and trying to get the scheduling worked out in the middle of today's work or after his shift would add an unnecessary layer of stress for both of them.

It took a few rings for her to answer. “Good morning, buddy!” she greeted cheerily.

“Good morning, noona,” he returned. “There's um... I need to talk to you about something.”

“Oh yeah, sure! What is it?”

“Uh... I know this is very short notice, but um... I need to take the next two weeks off,” he said hesitantly. “Not like, starting today. I can still come in today. I mean starting tomorrow?”

The lack of any sound from her end of the call worried Daehyun, and he sipped at his water a bit faster while nervously awaiting her response. “You need two weeks off with this little notice?” she wondered slowly, probably to make sure she'd heard correctly. He made a noise in affirmation, and she further questioned, “Is everything alright, buddy? Normally you try to take more work by filling in whenever you can! Or if you do need to take time off, you try to take as little as possible...”

Hyosung wasn't wrong about Daehyun's work habits, but he'd rather not give personal details unless it was absolutely necessary. “It's um... a-a family emergency?” Daehyun considered this a fair answer since this did qualify as an emergency for him!

His coworkers would probably beg to differ, though. A cruise with parents sounded more a vacation than an emergency. 'I suppose it would to those who have good parents.'

“You need two weeks off starting tomorrow for a family emergency.”

“Yes.”

Hyosung hummed to herself in a troubled fashion. “That's... quite a bit to be off such short notice.”

“I know it is, and um... If I could've given you further notice, I would've. But... I-I just learned about this myself,” he admitted quietly. “I'll fill in as much as you need me to and won't ask for anymore time off to make up for it, I just... I really need this time.”

Once more, she fell into a silence that unsettled Daehyun to the point of quickly sipping away the rest of his water. “Alright, I'll approve you the rest of May off after today,” she decided. “But when the month switches over to June, it's back to the usual schedule unless I need you to fill in, buddy. Will that work?”

“The rest of May?” Daehyun ran over the days in his mental calendar. “I only need up until the twenty-seventh off, noona.”

“Consider the extra few days as leeway. Emergencies have a tendency of not going as planned, so that extra bit of time is to make sure nothing else pops up that would require you to ask for more time,” she explained. “But if everything goes fine, then they should be used to make sure you're absolutely okay! Emergencies are really stressful on the mind, buddy. And having that wind down period before coming back to work will help you out.”

That reminded Daehyun of Hyosung's mindset on why she gave him three days off intead of the requested one when he had to dress up to meet Youngjae's at the end of April. It was sure to be stressful, and she wanted his mind to be in tiptop shape before coming back to the stresses of work.

These sorts of things were ones Hyosung wouldn't back down on no matter what. Daehyun knew that from experience, so he let out a heavy breath through his nose. “I understand, noona.”

“Is there anything else you wanted to discuss, Daehyun?”

“No, that was it...”

“Got it. Well, I'll see you at work in a few hours, okay buddy?”

“Of course.”

Once more, Daehyun placed his phone on the counter. Now that he had work figured out, he could focus on other things. Like making sure he was packed and ready to go, a task he didn't realize would be as worrying as it was. Mainly because he didn't own a bag large enough for a two weeks trip, and the idea of needing to borrow one brought him onto a troubling train of thought and into something else he needed to get figured out before the day's end.

Explaining what was going on to his best friend and his boyfriend! He couldn't just up and leave for two weeks with no explanation to his important people, and he wouldn't want to. He just had his individual worries for each of them.

If Daehyun mentioned anything to do with his parents, there was no way Zelo wouldn't immediately fling himself into a tirade about them. And if he mentioned the details pertaining to why he was doing what they requested... Well, that tirade would only get more severe. Daehyun would rather avoid that if he could, but he couldn't just ask to borrow one of his best friend's many suitcases without explaining why.

With Youngjae, the worry came more form what could happen during Daehyun's absence rather than any sort of concern that Youngjae would be upset with him. His boyfriend didn't seem to get mad at much, the closest being his parents, and even then he didn't allow the frustration to hold onto him for long. Based on how solidified Youngjae already was in Daehyun's life, the idea that a sudden departure could potentially spur him to seek companionship in someone else was absolutely devastating and slammed into the walls of Daehyun's fragile heart like a battering ram-

Daehyun deeply inhaled through his nose and held it, reminding himself that he had no evidence to suggest Youngjae would go around his back like that. Everything he'd shown thus far pointed to love and care, not lies and deceit! Daehyun sent away the battering ram called doubt with a heavy exhale.

He knew it was a huge risk to his heart to trust in what he and Youngjae shared over his brain's worrying that came from a place of wanting to protect him from further pain. But Daehyun wasn't trusting blindly this time. Youngjae earned this trust through his actions, and as terrifying as it was for Daehyun to admit it, he loved him. Even if the thought of saying it aloud made Daehyun's mouth go dry and caused his fingertips to go all tingly!

Daehyun halted his thoughts and reminded himself that he was on a timer. 'Go up and talk to Zelo now and convince him to let me borrow a suitcase. Hopefully finish packing before work. Have my discussion with Youngjae after work.' With that timeline in mind, Daehyun made the quick journey up to Zelo's.

Despite how quickly he opened the door, Zelo looked like he was still half asleep, so he must've woken up within the past hour. “G'morning, hyung...” he half slurred half yawned, “Whaddaya need so early?”

“I was wondering if I could borrow a suitcase?”

“Borrow a suitcase, huh...” He hummed as his brain gears started turning, eyebrows furrowing, eyes squinting, and lips pursing slightly as he did so. Then he motioned Daehyun in. “Whaddaya need a suitcase for?” Zelo wondered tiredly, also motioning for Daehyun to follow him back to his room.

“I uh... I need to go somewhere for a few weeks, but I don't have a bag to hold what I need for that long,” Daehyun explained slowly. Zelo made a quiet noise of understanding as he opened his closet door and pushed his hung up dresses to the side. 'Maybe I lucked out in that he's too tired to really question what's going on?'

He pulled out a few different suitcases from the hidden part of the closet. He glanced down at the bags he'd set between them and ran his fingers through his bedhead hair. “Where are you even going that you need a suitcase?”

“Uh... a trip,” Daehyun answered vaguely, realizing that the message he'd received from his umma during his internalized ramblings didn't actually state where this cruise was going. “I'm going to be leaving tomorrow and will be back near the end of May.”

Zelo nodded absentmindedly, then his lips twisted into frown and he ceased all motion as his squint pierced through Daehyun's soul. “Wait a , why are you going on a trip? Who the hell are you going with? Why the am I just learning about this now? What the is going on, hyung?” he interrogated.

His best friend's vocal tone immediately sent a nervous shudder down Daehyun's spine, and he hunched his shoulders and glanced away from Zelo. “Please don't get that tone with me, Zelo,” he begged quietly, fiddling with his fingers anxiously before bringing them to pull at the bottom hem of his shirt. “I'd uh, I'd rather not talk about it?”

From his peripherals, Daehyun noted that piercing gaze shift to something more concerned and with a tinge of desperation. “Hyung...” Then he pinched the bridge of his nose. “If you don't want to talk about it, then it has to do with your parents, doesn't it?” The way Daehyun winced at the words was more than enough an answer for Zelo. “Why the are you going on a trip with your ty parents for a few weeks?” he questioned, and the way Zelo said it told him he was trying control his tone as best he could for Daehyun's sake.

He appreciated that. “To get them out of my life,” he answered quietly.

Daehyun watched Zelo's facial movements as he tried to process that through his still somewhat sleepy haze. “Certainly there are better ways to go about that than putting up with no one but them for a few weeks,” he grumbled as he rubbed his temples. “Are you sure this is a good idea? You're going to be a wreck when you come back! If you come back...”

“I... I definitely plan on coming back,” Daehyun declared, alarmed by how his best friend had deflated in front of him. “I'm only going to be gone a few weeks. Nothing more than that.”

“That's what you say now.” Zelo's shoulders sagged, and he kicked at the ground a bit childishly. “Who knows what kind of they'll try to pull to get you back under their thumb, hyung...” he sighed sadly. “How can I let you go in good conscience knowing damn well they're probably trying to get control of you again?”

Daehyun hadn't thought about it that way, and Zelo's worry was certainly a valid concern considering his parents' track record. Maybe they were hoping to get him fully back in their control and hoping he'd abandon whatever solo life he'd made for himself, and the only way they could think to do that was to isolate him from possible obstacles to their goal. Daehyun stared down at his feet, figuring this train of thought was a very real possibility.

What they didn't know was that Daehyun no longer considered them worth his time to the point that he'd abandon everything to satisfy them.

A sniffle brought Daehyun out of his thoughts, and he looked up to see Zelo wiping some stray tears from his face. “What if... What if they succeed, hyung?” he whispered. “I can't ing handle losing you to them again...”

Daehyun maneuvered his way through the suitcases to take Zelo by his shoulders and look up at him. “You won't,” he declared, mustering the most reassuring smile he could through the way he was also tearing up at the thought he'd made his best friend cry. “I won't make that mistake again. No matter what they try to do, I'm not forsaking our friendship again. I promise.”

Zelo stared at Daehyun, dumbfounded, as he sniffled a few more times. Then he nodded his understanding and wiped the rest of his tears away. “Can- Can we go out for like... a coffee or something before you go to work?” he asked expectantly.

And Daehyun didn't want to deny his best friend in this moment. “Sure,” he agreed. “Let me drop off one of these suitcases to my apartment, I'll grab my keys and wallet, and you can drop me off at work once we're done. How does that sound?”

Zelo happily nodded his understanding, and they were soon on their way.

'I can just pack tonight once I've explained things to Youngjae.'

--

A/N:

Y'all, Daehyun released a video on Lionheart celebrating the one year anniversary of Aight (can't believe it's already been a year) and he was going through pictures from his BAP days and picking which ones he liked best. And one of the pictures in the mix was him dressed as a girl for I think a Live On Earth performance? But he was like, "I got a lot of positive feedback from that!" and I just want y'all to know that when think of Daehyun as Daena, that's the main appearance I think of.