Unconditional Feelings (Heesun)

22

The day was over. Sunoo scurried out of the loud classroom and headed straight to the cafe where he worked. The sun had almost set, and the sky was shaded blue with a tint of black. The sunlight was still beaming from the light blue sky, giving Sunoo the opportunity to feel more secure while walking.

The cafe that he worked at was at a close distance from his school, he didn't need to take the bus for it—and spend his money for a short ride of 3 minutes. It would take him approximately 10 minutes to walk to the cafe, and while speed-walking, he would listen to music, feeling every single beat and rhythm flow through his ears.

Throughout his childhood, Sunoo loved singing and feeling the soft tune of melody slip out from his tongue. He learned to deepen his voice when needed, and learned the method of raising his voice to a specific pitch to clearly sing a high note. He hummed a soft tune of the song ringing in his ear, and the thoughts swirled around his void head.

-ˋˏ ༻❁༺ ˎˊ- Farewell Neverland (TXT)

A paradise is full of lies
Oemyeonhago sipeosseo nan
Woah-oh
Nae majimak pinancheo
Barassеo endless flying
It's the еnd, it's true
Neverland, my love, ijen annyeong
And I'm free falling
Byeoldeura modu pyeonhi jaryeom
'Til I be calling
No matter where I go
Yeogin no home
Duryeowodo nan deo araero
Annyeong Neverland, my love...

The tune mesmerized him. The song reminded him of his childhood, and he dearly missed the feeling of his mother's embrace pulling him close. After that day, his mother was busy with her work again, ignoring her son's messages and calls. But Sunoo understood. At least, that's what he forced himself to do so. He knew he was trying to convince himself to be happy through all this. To be grateful, but then why was he feeling this way? 'There are people who are going through something even more terrible, something so depressing and truly heart-breaking, so shouldn't I be grateful for what I have?'

The last chorus ended, and the song faded out. He sighed, and the urge to cry clutched tightly inside his chest. He played the next song and hummed to the tune along with the beats.

"Good evening!" Sunoo greeted the workers when stepped inside the store. The staff working by the front table waved at him and continued working. He walked to the employee-only room and got changed into his working outfit. A plain white shirt along with a light, coffee brown colored apron strapped around the shoulders. (I think it's pretty obvious, especially if you have watched that one en-o' clock episode.)

After changing, he headed to the front desk along with the other girl and started on his shift. There weren't many customers present, so Sunoo just stood there and peered around the store.

"Sunoo, you must be tired. Go sit over there and take a break before the customers barge in." Leon tapped the younger's shoulder and gestured at the table at the corner of the store. "Take this with you." She handed him a packet of vanilla creme bread. He bowed in response and situated himself in the empty seat. Carefully unwrapping the plastic bag, created a loud eruption inside the cafe with faint music playing in the background. He stuffed the bread in his mouth and felt his tongue bubbling due to the sweet taste.

'This actually tastes good. How come I have never tried it?' Sunoo moaned in delight while observing every little spec of the bread. 'Definitely buying this for myself later on—maybe a whole bag will do.' The thoughts swirled through his head, and he remembered that the group would be eating out again. He wanted to join too, but unfortunately, he couldn't due to his work shift.

Meanwhile

The group was dining at a famous restaurant near Jay's house. The restaurant was quite popular for dates and hangouts, and there were many good reviews. The food wasn't too expensive, and neither was it completely trash. It was something worth the money.

Jake had dragged Heeseung along with him, and the rest of the group was present to enjoy the lunch.

"Heeseung hyung, why do you look dead?" Jungwon cackled while pointing to Heeseung's dark eye bags. "Did you not get any sleep last night?" 

"Hmm, yeah, I stayed up doing something." 

"You're looking quite depressed these days, is everything okay?" Jake asked while grabbing the coke can placed next to him. "Yeah, yeah, I'm fine...just some things..." Heeseung replied, shoving the rice inside his mouth. The group continued to chatter with each other, but Riki and Sunghoon were especially quiet. 

"Uh, I'll be right back," Riki spoke up after awkwardly eating. His head was trapped with the thoughts of his parents. He might have to leave for Japan again, something he dreaded with great anger. His father, Mr. Nishimura was the head of Ni-Mura Corporation. Their company was famous among celebrities and was considered one of the luxurious brands exporting and importing from Japan. 

Riki wasn't the next heir, but he had other responsibilities ahead of him. His older sister, Konon majored in business, and as a child, she had learned almost every single aspect correlating with business when she was just 9. Her quick-witted, strong personality matched quite well with her confident attitude. 

Instead of going to the bathroom, he dragged his body outside the diner and walked to the nearby cafe where Sunoo worked at. He peered through the glass window and observed the older taking orders and softly smiling at the customers. He never wished to leave the older, he wanted to confess but wasn't sure if it would make such a big difference. Heaving a hitched sigh, he felt his heart tighten. 

"Are you just gonna stare at him like that?" 

The familiar voice behind Riki startled him, causing him to flinch in surprise and push the other from behind. 

"Sunghoon hyung? What are you doing here?" Riki's eyes widened in surprise when noticed the older standing a few inches away from him. "Ah, I saw you walking out of the diner, and you were definitely not going to the bathroom, so I excused myself and followed you here." He nodded while talking. "Do you wanna buy a coffee or anything from the cafe?" He asked.

"Oh, no, I was just taking a walk here to clear my head," Riki responded back, his voice lacing with a hint of nervousness. "Do you wanna talk over there, at the bench?" Sunghoon eyes traveled to the nearby benches under the tree. "We should take them before anyone else does." 

Without any hesitation, Sunghoon gently grasped Riki's wrist and pulled him along across the street. 

(BTW Stream the new TXT album! The song chosen is actually one of my favorite songs as of now from the album.)