(Daehyun's Perspective)

Daehyun stared at his phone on the counter, palms flat against the surface. He steadied his breath through his nose and chewed on his bottom lip, fingers pressing tighter against the counter until they whitened. He'd just gotten off the phone with his umma since she and his appa had totaled the amount, and the number was nauseating.

He was going to be at this for a long time. At least they'd agreed to the payment plan idea. So long as they got the money, they said.

“What do they even need it for, anyway?” he grumbled to himself. They were already rolling in it since they both had high paying, successful careers. Pocket change from a restaurant server was nothing compared to the heads of a corporation!

Were they trying to prove a point? If anything, they were proving to him just how much he didn't want them in his life.

One of the steps to fixing himself that he wanted to take was to cut the bad things out of his life, those things that made him feel worthless about himself. He'd managed to completely rid himself of Sunhwa, even if her kicking him out was more her ridding herself of him. Either way, he was away from her. A blessing in disguise now, but it had been world shattering at the time. All that left was figuring out how to handle his parents.

Once he paid off this debt, he was cutting them from his life entirely. Until then, he would only interact with them the bare minimum he could get away with. Their mindsets were just too toxic for him to be around and also successfully live his life the way he wanted to.

Daehyun let out a heavy exhale, a headache starting to settle in his brain. But he had to figure out the math so he could still survive but also send an acceptable amount to his parents so they wouldn't be on his back about it not being enough. “Better go get something to write this all down with...”

With his trusty pack of purple sticky notes and a pen, he returned to the kitchen and set himself up at the counter with his phone acting as a calculator. He grabbed one of the cookies that he'd been gradually picking at since Youngjae had given them to him a few days ago and munched into it while he began to think of monetary calculations.

On the first note, he wrote down the total his parents had given him and pulled it off to stick against the counter.

This month's weekly payments would be less since he worked less hours due to previously being enrolled in school and his boss being mindful of that. He'd used his first weekly paycheck to stock up on food items and necessities. If he'd known about paying his parents back beforehand, he would've found ways to save his earnings better.

No matter what, he needed to make sure he could afford rent and his phone bill. On the next note, he scribbled down the totals for those two expenses before pulling it off and sticking against the counter. When he'd first moved in, he was told rent was paid at the beginning of the month. That somewhat coincided with the end of month phone bill, so as long as he had those two totaled together in his bank account, he'd be set for another month.

He took his bottom lip between his teeth and scrunched his brows together in thought. 'What's the best way I can divvy up my earnings to satisfy both my parents and my need to survive?'

Scrawling down by week what he'd make this month based on his scheduled hours onto the third note, he pulled that note off and stuck it next to other two. Mentally, he noted that money earned from tips should be put into savings for emergencies. Which left him to figure out his weekly paychecks.

“Half and half, maybe?” he mumbled, tapping the pen against his chin.

On the next note in the pad, wrote out ideal money totals for things he'd need. Gas, food, necessities... Totaling the amounts for that up took over half of each payment, though. 'If I only set aside a third of each paycheck, it could work...'

Daehyun shook the thought out of his head. He wanted this debt paid as fast as he could. It was already going to take him years. Adding more time onto that would only prolong his suffering! “Time to find ways to cut down, I guess.”

At least he was figuring this out now when cash was less. That way things wouldn't seem as bad once his hours increased!

Half the gas budget, perhaps? He didn't drive as much since his job was on the corner and he no longer had to drive to school. The most amount of driving he did was to get groceries and go to the bank, and those were in the same plaza. Since he had no plans to drive anywhere far away, it'd be safe to cut the totals on that. He calculated the half and scratched out the original, penning the new total tiny next to the scribbled out bit.

He'd rewrite it neater on a different note once he had everything figured out. Until then, it was crunch time.

With groceries, his best bet for saving money would be to stock up on quick serve microwave meals, but he didn't have a microwave. Is it possible to cook those on the stove? He couldn't afford the luxury of a microwave with a debt looming over him, after all. Maybe in a few months, but right now just wasn't doable...

He did get one free meal a day at Shortstub's, and if he only got things that were cheap and easy to make for when he was at home, it'd be fine. He cut the food total down a third after calculating it.

As for brands, it'd be better to go generic with everything except toilet paper. Brand names were more expensive, so he'd avoid those where he could. Detergents, dryer sheets, shower necessities... He could also save money if he got three-in-one shampoo, conditioner, and body wash!

Daehyun got really excited about that revelation! He ticked necessities down a third after taking money off for brand names and consolidating items.

He shoved the rest of the cookie he'd been nibbling on into his mouth and transferred the information to a new note before tossing the scribbly one into the trash bin. As he chewed, he put that note next to the amount he'd make this month if his predictions were correct.

Daehyun grumbled as he looked over the notes. January was clearly a worst case scenario. However, if he could get it so he'd be working the entirety of February as well as the months afterwards, then his paycheck amounts would increase and leave him with more money to work with.

The only problem with that was not knowing how Hyosung planned to schedule him. Daehyun mindlessly grabbed another cookie and bit into it. 'Maybe I should talk with her about it?' The question there was whether he should do this now or later...

In the end, he dialed her up. He wanted to get this sorted out now so he wouldn't end up overthinking and panicking about it for the rest of the week.

Her answering was as immediate as always. “Hey buddy, what can I help you with today?”

“Noona, have you, um... given any thought to how you'll be scheduling me? For uh, next month?” he asked nervously, staring at the cookie in his hand. 'Should've finished it before I got on the phone... Now I have to wait.'

“Daehyun, we're not even halfway through January, and you're asking me about February?” she questioned.

“Um! Well, I... uh-” he stammered, and if both his hands weren't full, he'd be scratching at his cheeks right now. Maybe that fact wasn't so bad, though. He needed to knock the habit, or else he'd break the skin one of these days. “I'm uh, budgeting? And I was wanting to get a feel for what my monetary situation would look like with my new scheduling...”

“Budgeting, huh? Looking at and worrying about the numbers is a real pain, right?” she sighed but with a chuckle in her tone.

Daehyun made a noise of agreement before thinking he should use actual words. Hyosung was his boss, after all. “It really is.”

“It tires me out just thinking about it! Let's see here...” She paused, clicking her tongue as she did who knows what on the other side of the line. “What were you wanting to be scheduled?” She must've pulled out something to start forming next month's schedule.

“I was hoping for every day?”

Hyosung took in a sharp breath. “I can't legally do that, Daehyun. I can't work my employees more than six days straight,” she rejected. “I can't even work more than six days straight. Corporate won't let me! It's why I take every Wednesday off.”

'Oh, so she's not actually at work right now?' Since he'd never worked a Wednesday due to his university schedule, this was new information for Daehyun. “Then... I'd like to work as much as you can allow?”

“I can do that,” Hyosung agreed, and there were a few clicks from her pen. “Okay... The last day you work this month is the twenty-ninth. So I don't need to worry about the six day rule cutting you off in the beginning of the month. How about I start you working on the first, and you take every Tuesday day off? Will that work for you?”

“I can do that, noona.”

“Let me just make a note of that here...” Hyosung trailed on the last syllable before speaking again. “Would you prefer first shift or second shift?”

“Whatever works best for you.” Truth be told, he didn't care what shift he worked so long as he was working. Nothing but second shift would be stressful, but he'd do it if that's what she needed. Ideally, she'd schedule some first shifts, but beggars can't be choosers.

“I normally don't get around to making the next month's schedule until the last week of the month, so that means you're technically getting first pick for next month,” she said. “The only preference I have is you doing second shift on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays. You handle the dinner crowd like a champ, despite how packed it gets.”

The compliment threw him for a loop. Or was it less of a compliment and more of an observation? Either way, he didn't know what to do with it. “You really think so?”

“Of course I do, buddy!” she confirmed. “I still remember my days of fumbling around the dinner shift and trying to emulate how you worked the floor. Seeing you give it your best despite the stress of it all motivated me to keep at it!”

Daehyun recalled being a panicky mess those first few weeks, having a lot of mistakes in his first month of his job. But keeping his job was top priority, so he up his nervousness and hid it away like he did with everything else. Otherwise, he'd be home with his thoughts or home with Sunhwa and her one-eighty personality.

It'd done him well in a work sense, at least. Not so much in every day life.

“I'm uh... flattered you think so.” He felt the beginning of a grin playing at his lips. Second shift on weekends were the hardest to work, and being told that he performed it well had him feeling light on his feet. “How about I work second shift on the weekends and first shift on the weekdays?” he suggested. After all, she was giving him a choice, and he'd much rather split his shifts like this.

“Good idea, I'll jot that down for you, buddy! When I get to work tomorrow, I'll be sure to get this sorted out officially rather than casually. Anything else I can do for you, Daehyun?” Hyosung asked.

“No, that's it. Thank you, noona.”

“Anytime, buddy!”

He did feel a bit guilty, though. He'd interrupted her on her day off to help him figure out hours for the next month much sooner than she usually would. “I'm sorry for bothering you on your day off...”

“Oh, don't worry about it, Daehyun! I'm just glad to hear from you,” Hyosung cheerily said. “I try to keep up with all my workers, and you're the one who talks with me the least. So the fact that you're talking with me outside of work, even if we're only discussing scheduling...” she paused with a little hum. “It reassures me that you're doing okay. You don't socialize much, so it's always nice to hear from you.”

“Oh...”

“Daehyun?”

“Yes?”

“Don't feel like you can only talk about work with me. I want Shortstub's to be like one happy family who can have each other's backs no matter what. So no matter the topic, I'll listen to you just like I listen to all the others, okay?”

“I'll uh, keep that in mind,” he answered softly. He wasn't sure whether or not he'd take her up on the offer, especially since he didn't want to burden others with his business... But it was touching that she offered, at least.

“Have a good rest of your day, buddy!”

“Um, you too...” After he set the phone back on the counter once the call clicked to end, Daehyun finally finished off the cookie he'd started before he'd gotten on the phone with his boss.

Hyosung confused him, but he was glad she wasn't the type of boss who got easily upset at her staff. Maybe it stemmed from having been in their position before her promotion? 'Is it really normal for bosses to be so friendly with their subordinates, though?'

With a heavy exhale, he closed up the cookie container. He'd only managed to eat a third of them so far, but not because they were bad. They tasted wonderful, and Daehyun could tell from the quality that baking was something Youngjae was good at! The problem came from Daehyun's sensitive taste buds. The richness of a chocolatey sweet was a flavour that made his mouth hurt if he didn't eat in moderation.

Youngjae also confused him. He'd been nothing but kind from the start, and Daehyun couldn't figure out what he'd done to earn this type of treatment. Trying to get that answer out of Youngjae only confused him more.

I'm only saying what I think.

Which would mean Youngjae genuinely thought he was attractive, and that he did believe Daehyun had an amazing singing voice. Those words conflicted with just about everything Daehyun had been told over the course of his life. He was used to the complaints and the nitpicks that made him change how he lived his life.

But here was Youngjae, telling him the contrary. Those remarks caused a warmth to settle in Daehyun's chest when he thought about them, but if he lingered on the thoughts to long, it burned to a painful degree. Did it hurt because he thought he didn't deserve them? Or was it painful because he wanted to believe them? Maybe it was because if the words were lies, it would be a lethal stab to his already fractured heart?

Youngjae didn't come off as the type of person who lies, though. He brimmed with confidence at all points. Someone like that didn't need to lie!

Daehyun sighed. 'They don't need to. Doesn't mean they don't...' Sunhwa was full of confidence too, but she turned out to do nothing but deceive and play mind games.

Before he could let his mind wander any further on that topic, he shrugged the thoughts away and stuck his notes onto the fridge instead of the counter. He also made another note to calculate February's pay based on his earlier discussion with Hyosung. His head was too swamped to do more calculations right now. Since it was for next month, it'd be safe to wait until later to get that done.

As he returned from putting away his sticky notes and pen, his phone buzzed a message.

Youngjae – 14:53

About to start piano time~ Any requests before I begin? :)

Daehyun squinted at the message. Part of him wanted to go down there and join him. Yesterday had been very pleasant, even though his nerves hit him in waves. The other part said he'd only be a hassle, so just respond a song and listen from here.

'But it's really nice to be around Youngjae...' Something about him made it simpler for Daehyun to be transported back to a time where he wasn't such a mess. While he was scared to get attached for fear that Youngjae could potentially turn out to be like Sunhwa, he was hopeful that being friends with Youngjae wouldn't be like that. After all, Zelo counted Youngjae among his friend list, and Zelo wouldn't be friends with someone who lied to get their way.

He decided to be selfish today. With trembling fingers, he typed up his response.

Me – 14:55

Can I join you instead?

Youngjae – 14:55

:D!! Of course!! I'd be glad to have your company!! :)

Me – 14:56

I'll be down in a minute then!

Daehyun's lips twitched up into a smile as he slipped his phone into his pocket. He pressed a hand against his chest in the vain attempt to calm how hard his heart was pounding and figured he was just excited to be hanging out with a friend. 'Can I even call Youngjae a friend? Is he more a friendly acquaintance? Maybe that warm feeling I get in my chest and my face is me really wanting to be his friend?'

It was the best conclusion he could come up with, at least. As he left to go downstairs, he tried to work out in his mind how he could keep the warmth that robbed him of breath in check around Youngjae's dimpled smile and bright eyed excitement. Otherwise, Daehyun was sure he'd just fumble over himself more than he already did!

--

A/N:

Me @ Me: gosh are they even gonna get together before you get to 5ok???
Also me @ me: be patient , it's comin!!

Would y'all be interested in knowing my playlist for this story? Or if there's a song you'd like to suggest for it, I'm all ears!