“No, hyung, it’s fine!” Allen quickly shook his head, taking another sip as if to convince Donghae that it was, in fact, alright (it wasn’t, but they both already knew). “I’ve had worse,” he added, which wasn’t a polite lie. He was glad the soju hadn’t been brought out, that he handled even worse than beer. At least, he thought wryly to himself, he wouldn’t really have to worry about alcoholism.
“And if it needs to be gone I’m glad to help. It would be a waste to just throw it away.” Speaking of the devil, Allen remembered his own fridge, stocked for people who were home more frequently than he was. He might have to go through that once he got back to his place, too.
“That reminds me, I don’t think you’ve seen the flat I’m living in now, right?”
Moving had been such a surreal experience and it was strange not to share his room with Junsu and Daewon anymore. Reason enough to use the flat more as storage space than an actual place to live. He’d have to get rid of the legion of boxes before he could have guests, but maybe that was the push he needed to finally get things done.
“The age thing was a joke in bad taste. I’m sorry,” Allen sighed, running a hand through his hair. “And I really don’t mind supporting roles! From my experience, every single actor on a stage is important in some way.” After all, with such limited space there wasn’t much sense in having more people than necessary around. “I’m just really scared. Plus, there’s the schooling thing to think of.”
The schooling thing he hadn’t really looked much into either. Yet. “But it’ll work out. It has to.” The way he worded it, the younger male almost made it seem as if he’d just sit down and wait for a miracle to happen, but if he’d learnt something in his almost twenty-six years it was, that nothing ever came out of waiting aimlessly.
“We have another two years. That really isn’t much time, huh?” At least not at the rate idol lives seemed to pass. Allen hadn’t paid much thought to what he’d do after the expiration of his contract. There was still military service waiting for him back in Taiwan, though from what he knew it paled in comparison to what his Korean peers had to go through and after that… With his compulsory education alone there was little he could do.
“Only because it’s you, hyung,” he quipped back cheekily. It was the truth, too; around Donghae, there wasn’t really a point in clinging onto appearances. His sunbaenim knew him too well for that. He might as well be open about things right away. “You haven’t talked about closing night, have you?”
Matter of fact, his friend probably had, but it wasn’t like Allen minded hearing about it again. It put everything they were talking about into perspective.
“You don’t have to lie to me - I know that it’s shit. Just because I’m your senior doesn’t mean you have to pretend to like something that I give you. You’re normally so vocal about things that displease you.” That was a shot at how Allen always seemed so ready to speak about what irritates him in regards to everything else, much like how he was complaining to him about going back into musical theatre acting. “You’ve had worse? Is that supposed to make up for it?” He asked as he shook his head. “How about I just get us something else?” He knew that Allen wasn’t much of a drinker in the first place, so soju was out of the question. Donghae reached for the bottle of beer he was still holding, plucking it out of the boy’s hands as he brought himself back up to his feet.
“I’ll be right back,” he stated, blatantly ignoring his comment about helping him get rid of the beer in his fridge. He made his way back to his kitchen, taking both of the beer bottles and holding them upright over the sink, pouring the alcohol down the drain. He didn’t feel a smidgen of remorse for what he was doing. He knew that he wouldn’t have ended up drinking it anyway, and pouring it down the drain was better than just letting it sit in his fridge, collecting dust. It wasn’t like he had many visitors anyway, so he doubted he would be able to get rid of them. After pouring them out, he disposed of the bottles and grabbed two cups instead, filling them up with juice, before walking back out to the living area. “Here, I hope that’s a little better.”
Donghae sat back down on the sofa, getting settled back into his original spot, before turning his attention back to his junior. “No, I haven’t seen your new place yet. You’ve been a little busy lately, what with everything Origin has going on, so I figured we were just waiting for the right time to make a house warming party happen.” He wanted to be able to see where the younger male was living, if only to give himself peace of mind. “Is it a nice place? Where is it? Still in the city, right?” He liked to know where the people he cared about were spending the majority of their time, just to make sure that they were safe and sound. Call it his older brother instinct if you will.
“At least now you’re finally admitting that you’re scared. That’s the first step in realizing that you can better yourself,” he teased, a smile spreading across his face. “And you’re right, supporting roles are just as important as lead roles, because every actor brings something to the stage, even if they just have one role to themselves.” He could understand why schooling would make him have some doubts, but he knew that it would be for the best at the end of the day. Allen would regret it more if he didn’t go through with it than if he did, Donghae firmly believed that. “I know how you feel. I started taking classes a few years back and it was hard to juggle that with idol responsibilities, but you’re a really smart guy, Allen. I’m sure that you’re more than capable of handling the load of your career and your education. If I can do it, you definitely can. You’re way smarter than I am.”
He sipped at his new drink, his fingers tapping against the glass as he did so. “It’s not a very long time, no.” He knew that Allen was worried about things, just as much as Donghae was. There was his impending military enlistment that was waiting for him down the line in just a few short years, something that he had been putting off for quite some time. He didn’t want to go, but he knew that he had to. It was mandatory for every Korean male citizen, and unless he was physically unable to pass the inspection, then he would be forced to shave his head and put on a uniform. That wasn’t a day he was looking forward to.
“I haven’t.” He probably had, but he couldn’t really remember if he had or not, so if Allen didn’t mind hearing about it again, he didn’t mind talking about it again. “What do you want to know about closing night? Or should I just run through all of the details about it, hmm?”