the night fell upon them with heavy steps, then all at once.
bounded by the laughter of two men, of which they carried their exhaustion, together, in mokjawon tavern. to undo the long-drawn-out hours of labor. stretch among themselves, these bodies bickering with the handiwork of nature, out at sea or in the open, grazing farmland. watch as their faces relax, mellow out. the language used, now casual and ripe, as the evening progresses and time is no longer a regard after four, five, six drinks. hangyul’s index finger draws circles into the frosty condensation of his glass.
when the sun returns to the soil and behind yunhwa’s peripheral mountains, they have nowhere to go but to search for each other in conversation. falling forward, past the habituals greetings, questions of their wellbeing, clawing at the truth of what it means to stay in the confines of a town so small, so limited, that secrecy rises in place of suspicion.
there’s no lying with kangdae. no need to play pretend, he’s as best as hangyul’s ever known. unchanged, loyal to his optimism. a heart so good, kind, and strong, hangyul jokes with a glass in his hand, “the daredevil in you never left.”
the recollection of everything drops short until it’s early morning. a rumble on the street he lives on, clouds gathering near the deepened, blue horizon. shadows growing on the pavement. hangyul awakes to noises of clothes shifting, somebody— kangdae, moving around or walking, as the wooden floorboards creak beneath his feet.
a dull throb below his temples, the ache writhing to the center of his forehead, and he rubs his eyes free of sleep. choi hangyul sits up from his couch, his neck stiff and sight still bleary. he focuses on the light in the kitchen and turns towards kangdae, with much more energy than he can muster nearing five am.
“what the hell,” he breathes. “what’s with the get up? are you stupid?”
kangdae’s always been the type of child who would eagerly be the first one up at a sleepover. never able to sit still for too long, the rambunctious behavior had remained a constant throughout his adulthood.
so it’s no surprise even after a night filled with soju-fueled nostalgia that had kangdae sprawled haphazardly across the wooden floors of the living room, that he still woke up at the crack of dawn. a habit that lingered due to him wanting to get his chores done before the sun started beating down
or maybe the training he endured during his time as a volleyball player. regardless, everyday no matter rain or shine the farmer woke soon before the sun rose.
or maybe it was because seeing the sunrise was one of the best parts of the day, when the orange crept into the clear skies, and only the sound of nature could be heard in yunhwa.
a dull pain ran against his arm, ugh he shouldn’t have slept on some cold hard wooden floor, he was too old for this. his head felt like it was going to burst, he knew that he should have cooled it last night, but it was too hard to not go all out with hangyul. people must have thought hangyul’s smarts would rub off of kangdae, but he had a sneaking suspicion his own stupidity was rubbing off on his old friend.
his movements are sluggish as he drags himself to his backpack, it was half haphazardly thrown in the corner, a pair of shorts shoved in there, ah, past kangdae was so smart, thanks for packing a to-go bag, my dude.
after a rather embarrassing run to the bathroom, and splashing cold water onto his face, he finished brushing his teeth and headed out to the living room. kangdae tilts his head as he watches his friend snore on the couch, ah so peaceful…
he is about to kick the other male with his toe when hangyul awakes. oh shit that was close.
kangdae was used to it, being called stupid for his antics here and there. he never took it to heart though, so he smiles at his old friend, “ i’m going out for a jog,” he explains before kicking his friend’s shin softly, “ let’s go before it gets hot, we can cook some breakfast after.”
he knows he’d hear complaints, but kangdae knows that maybe with a little pushing he could make his old friend do about anything.
“ or, are you just toooo old and you can’t handle a small jog, we can just waste a chance to see the sunrise.”
