Taeyong had no idea that he’d have a metal pan in his right hand and a wooden bat in his left at 2 in the morning behind his front door.

 “Get out of the way!” The youngest of the family, Jaemi, screams at her twin brother, Joon. The two are playing downstairs in the living room with their colorful toys that give them imagination. “Joon! I said move!” She pushes him away from her area of toys because her brother is constantly invading her space. Joon vibrates his mouth, spit sprinkling out as he runs around the living room with his navy blue toy helicopter in his right hand. He raises it high up as he interrupts Jaemi’s skit of Barbie and Ken getting married.

Taeyong hates that part of the morning where he has to get up and participate in real life. He hears his little brother and sister constantly making noise. His bedroom is upstairs and it pains him to know that these little dweebs can be as loud for their voices to even reach his bedroom. It’s 10 in the morning and these kids are already waking him up. He grunts as he rolls around but the grunting slowly turns into raged whining. He can’t even close his eyes for five more minutes like he usually does.

It only takes him a second to flop off his queen-size bed in displeasure as his younger siblings still make a ruckus. He decides to open his door as a step toward reality and makes his way to the bathroom, getting freshened up. Afterwards, he steps down the stair steps with quick feet and sees his mother cooking up some breakfast for her lovely children.

“Good morning,” she says in a welcoming voice that soothes Taeyong. He quickly responds with the same words naturally. He views the two twins who still continue to fight over which side of the living room is theirs.

“Mommy! Joon ripped Barbie’s head off!” Jaemi sobs with a broken voice that her weeping interrupts. “Taeyong!” She speeds over to her older brother with the Barbie’s head in her right hand.

“Joon!” Taeyong voices in a disciplinary tone that shuts Joon up. Jaemi quickly hands her older brother the head of the Barbie doll which creeps him out one hundred percent. He raises it up to his face, staring into the eyes of the Barbie head with the bleach blonde hair flowing in the air with no body to support it. “Now that is nasty.”

“Joon, apologize,” their mother gives him the tone, and Joon looks down with saddened eyes to show that he didn’t mean it.

“Apologize for what?” There comes the last of the sibling unit. Nari, the oldest child, who happens to hold dominance. She walks into the kitchen with the intentions of satisfying her starvation.

Taeyong instantaneously shoots up the Barbie doll’s head up in the air calmly saying, “This.” Nari snatches the head in the air with her right hand naturally.

“Ew, that is disgustingly amusing,” she comments while holding the head from the end of its blonde hair. “My Joonie! How are you?” She speeds over to her brother and carries him in her arms, making him laugh and giggle playfully.

“I want to be carried too!” Jaemi pouts while crossing her arms, and Taeyong swiftly slips his hands under her armpits, swooping her into the air. Her laughter forms a smile on Taeyong’s face; the first he’s made the entire morning. He gently sets her back down after making her fly around in his arms around the room.

Just then, the front door opens, and everyone can tell from the sound it creates. The sound of the front door is always different from all the other doors. The father of the house enters with newspapers and envelopes in his hand. Taeyong can’t believe his father just went outside with a beige, stained robe with his feet in white socks and sandals. Taeyong has gotten used to his family being this way: his mother always cooking and caring, his father always embarrassing, his older sister always chilling, and his younger brother and sister always fighting.

“Good,” his father starts but is cut off by his own yawning, “morning.” Everyone chants the same words back. “Guess what? Someone is moving in next door.”

Everyone just nods, but Mother Lee decides to take it to the next level. She gasps before she beams, “Really?!” She sets her pan down and claps multiple times. “That’s great! We finally get to have new neighbors.”

“Yeah, we were stuck with Mr. Son,” Nari asserts with her expression showing her disbelief and annoyance of their other neighbor.

“And Hyeri!” Jaemi puffs her cheeks angrily from the thought of the other 5-year-old living across from them. “She’s a meanie. She thinks she’s all that.” Joon’s eyes pop up from the name as if he has a crush on the girl.

“I heard they’re from Thailand,” their father mentions to catch their interest. “I heard they’re very nice people as well, and they have a son! I think he’s around your age, Taeyong.” Taeyong knows exactly where this is going. “You should be friends with him!” And he is right.

“I would but I have enough,” he answers with no interest earning a “pft!” from his older sister.

“You only have, like what, four? Doyoung, Jaehyun, Taeil, and Mark. If anything, you need more, dude,” Nari breaks in which forms the pursed lips on Taeyong’s face. He refrains himself from ripping that black, frizzy, boyish hair off her head.

Surprise, surprise. Someone finally decided to buy the house next door to the Lee family who happen to be excited for their neighbor’s arrival— that is, except for Taeyong. It’s been years since anyone has lived in that house. The last owner probably left because of the Lee family.

“Well, I have to go to work. So, see ya.” Taeyong salutes himself out and grabs his black hoodie in the family closet. His family gives him the goodbye as he slips on his hoodie, and he leaves the house with a wave. He hops into the blood-red car in the garage and opens the garage door with the push of a button. As soon as the car enters the sunny outdoors, it shimmers underneath the sunlight.

Taeyong begins to drive to the restaurant where he works as a waiter which is ironic from how he’s an anti-social that will do anything just to stay in his room to watch TV and go on his laptop. There’s nothing worse for him than talking to people he really doesn’t want to talk to and the fact that he has to be super fake-friendly makes him want to throw up. But as long as he earns money for his hard work, then he’s all good.

He manages to show up at the restaurant without any problems and heads into the changing room where he can change into his waiter uniform. He is able to do this without anything messing him up and heads outside where he must start forcing his friendliness.

It’s been hours of the same old thing. Greet the customers, write down orders, give the chefs the orders, and serve the customers. It’s the same routine over and over again. Hours have passed and it’s currently night time. Everyone at home is out working as well and Jaemi and Joon are currently at their grandmother’s home in order for them to have a guardian.

“Hello! Welcome to Golden Palace. I am your waiter, Taeyong. Can I start off with some drinks?” Taeyong greets the three customers that he seated at the booth. The customers are a husband and a wife (judging from the rings) and probably their son. They examine Taeyong’s face and are enchanted by it: his round, dark eyes and his spiked up, chocolate brown hair fit him perfectly. His unif