it isn't a silver spoon taesung is fed with from the moment he's born—it's golden, weighted and heavy, keeping him in his place. it's by his own passions that he's found a spotlight on him, unable to hide behind the elusive park name. a family at war, waging everything in their arsenal against each other just for a spot at the helm. it reads close enough to a monarch, modern day capitalist royalty. and it was by forces of nature that taesung always knew to play his role as the youngest, weak-willed prince.
but he isn't royalty on azure, even if he stands at the top of the wealth pyramid. he's not a prince, but he remains park taesung, and the spotlight simply adapts to a new, less threatening form. "vanity at it's finest. nobody stays young forever anyway." of course, taesung politely excluded himself from that narrative. "good, then the cheese empire shouldn't matter," he responds with a shrug. flippant as always, ready to reduce half of his interactions on this island to being nothing more than meaningless seances. but they were, weren't they? meaningless. he's not looking to get serious, not when the last time resulted in five years tossed down the drain.
he's had his taste of what the other side looks like. when things mean something, and when emotion gets involved. taesung isn't like the man beside him in that way. his change in tune is merely circumstantial, at best. at worst? he's a man burned, left with something ripped out of his chest and forced to seek something to numb every bit of the pain. it becomes meaningless, but anything otherwise would be too damning. "i doubt anyone's coming here for their love story. it's about getting a few quick fucks before heading back into the real world." his words are blunt, maybe ring true for him. maybe not. he's always liked to deny a bit of the reality he lived in.
"me, sure. you? debatable. if anything, i'd keep you behind a bar and do the teaching myself." he hated teaching, but he'd hate serving drinks even more. "that, i could see working. i'm sure you'd make a great bartender." he rolls his eyes at the following words. "me giving business seminars? now reality really has been lost on you." as if he looked like someone prepped to give a motivational speech. if these ideas were being jotted down on a page, taesung would have thrown the whole book out at this place. "icons. isn't the whole point of this fictional island fantasy that we're playing dead?" as great as rocco is, he can now confirm he's the last person he wants to start a new life with if these are the ideas.
he knows that expression well enough, shot taken down as if it's in preparation for it. he's unfazed by the burn, just like he's unfazed by his words. instead he smirks, letting out a wry chuckle and shaking his head. "just relaxing." not entirely true, taesung a little bit too headstrong to really let go. but in the in between of it, isn't exactly an easy one to explain, nor does he feel he has to. "isn't that what we're meant to be doing here? pretending there isn't something waiting on the outside?" he raises an eyebrow in defiance, like rocco would know better than to challenge his words. "if you joined a book club, i would support you. literature could do you some good."