Oasis

5AM sunrise drizzles into Daehyun’s room, not a hint of dawn breaking yet. Standing at the doorway in a track shorts and a singlet, Daehyun puts on his running shoes and grabs his water bottle. This time of the day tends to be Daehyun’s favourite, where the world is still asleep and the ambience is utterly still. There isn’t a better time to attain some peace of mind, bruising maroon sky overseeing a dark expanse of crowdless streets. Simple silence without the chatter that chases after so relentlessly.

It’s no secret that Daehyun enjoys solitude. He was homeschooled for the majority of his childhood and during this developmental period, his relationships were scarce. Sometimes he would be brought along on visits to other noble houses, but while his brothers played with the other children, Heechul would instruct Daehyun to stay by his side. Daehyun’s own father never spoke to him much; aside from his mother, his butler Hankyung was the only other adult who would engage him.

It sometimes makes him curious how he turned out so different from his brothers. His oldest brother, Byunghee, sleeps in often and proclaims he’s lazy without any remorse. His middle brother, Yonghwa, relishes in company and the hordes of people, be it the nightlife in Gangnam or the prim business functions he oft attends.

Surely, part of this difference comes from Daehyun’s natural disposition. Introverted, obedient, serious. He’s been told he never was like most others even as a toddler, smiles rare and words few.

Though, there’s likely another reason Daehyun is such an anomaly among the Jung sons. Byunghee has mentioned Daehyun’s childhood was much different from his brothers. His father, Yunho, was never so distant till Daehyun’s birth. He pampered his sons and brought them out on the weekends for staycations at lavish suites. Trips to the amusement parks, art enrichment classes, soccer games in the backyard—Yunho was fond with his two older sons, that even those who doubted his love for his wife must agree. He talked and joked around, a conception Daehyun finds hard to grasp with how he’s only witnessed tight-lipped smiles from his father.

A big fight happened that changed things, so he was told. Something that Byunghee has never divulged. Yonghwa, who as a child pestered Byunghee but never got an answer, seems to have figured it out or he doesn’t bother as much. Daehyun doesn’t pry, having left his curiosity in his childhood where his eyes rarely met his father’s averted gaze.

Byunghee and Yonghwa didn’t grow up in a house of silence like Daehyun did. Perhaps that’s why Daehyun feels so at home in the wordlessness, keeping to his timid mother’s side.

Rounding the corner, Daehyun heaves as perspiration trickles down his neck. He gurgles down his water and goes a few more rounds before he reaches home. Daehyun takes a quick shower and grabs a bowl of cereal, getting a second helping and finishing off with a ham sandwich.

It’s a Sunday, so Daehyun presumes Himchan might be visiting Heechul. Daehyun thus decides against visiting his mother, heading to his room to browse through some new books he’d ordered. The new neurology and psychiatry titles find a place in Daehyun’s shelf, Daehyun grabbing a highlighter as he makes a few markings. The paragraphs are all what he’s learnt before—trauma, dementia, psychosis. Nothing new he’d hoped to find so he’d understand a little more about his mother’s condition.

Daehyun sighs, shutting his eyes in disappointment. He shelves away the book and dwells on his worries for a long moment, glancing out the window at the horizon.

Eventually, he pulls himself out of his trance, seeking some distraction. He notices the self-help books cluttered on the right and instinctively melts into a smile, pacing over. He’d stopped ordering them but didn’t throw it out despite Youngjae’s advice.

A thought crosses his mind that he should use another conversation starter at lunch tomorrow, just to tease Youngjae. It’s quite amusing to see the Omega’s reactions, something Daehyun hopes isn’t a warped guilty pleasure.

I wonder how Mr. Yoo spends his free time. Daehyun absentmindedly taps his conversation books as he muses. Youngjae’s roommate, Minki, seems to be a spirited person. Even though Youngjae similarly has few friends like Daehyun, Daehyun assumes Youngjae must have a more lively lifestyle with Minki around.

Throwing on a casual dress shirt and a pair of crisp jeans, Daehyun leaves the house to a nearby cafe to meet an entrepreneur. It’s yet another date arranged by his father. Yunho often throws these meetings to him, stringing along these starry-eyed start-ups and leaving Daehyun to coldly reject them.

In three hours, Daehyun returns home, settling on the couch for a long while. Outside of work, he doesn’t have much to do, so his weekends are often the longest. Yonghwa always suggests going to clubs at night and hitching a few one night stands, despite their father’s strict rules about sleeping around.

Daehyun sighs. He turns on the television to watch the news, feeling restless without his work to occupy him. He’s already skimmed through his newest books, none to his interest. Byunghee is overseas, so he can’t invite his brother out for a game of tennis.

As much as Daehyun enjoys being alone, it gets boring sometimes. Daehyun releases a long breath and stands, heading to the kitchen to cook lunch. He reaches for the rice and stops, glancing at the spaghetti packets in the corner.

The carbonara Mr. Yoo made tasted really good, Daehyun muses. He doesn't indulge in creamy dishes that often but Mr. Yoo's dish was nice. It had a homely taste to it.

Daehyun takes his phone and searches up the website Youngjae had recommended, Wine and Dine. He runs through the recipe and decides to try cooking it. It turned out badly the first time, but he had watched Youngjae cook it so it might turn out better this time. As long as he doesn't put it on high fire, Daehyun recalls Youngjae's annoyed instructions.

Yes, it's a good idea to practise cooking Carbonara, since Youngjae likes the dish. Youngjae will be coming over quite often after all, and Daehyun has noted his bad habit of not eating proper meals (stubbornly refusing to dine in Daehyun's presence).

Daehyun muffles a short chuckle. Youngjae resembled an angry wife that day, chiding every step Daehyun made and glancing in disgust at Daehyun's pitiful excuse for Carbonara. He reminds Daehyun of an upset chick when he's mad, brows furrowed and small lips pursed.

Daehyun gets the ingredients, humming shortly to himself. If Youngjae ever finds a mate and settles down with him, he'd probably be the type of wife who nags often. He's evidently a stickler, nitpicking at details in the business proposals and outright criticising ideas he finds stupid. He definitely has a difficult personality.

Was Youngjae always like this? It's hard to imagine a child being so uncooperative, but considering that Youngjae assumedly didn't have a comfortable upbringing, his hostile personality makes sense.

Daehyun cracks the egg into the bowl and stirs, pouring in some milk a