WTF?! | kang taehyun

18: country clubs suck!

[TUESDAY]

Taehyun slowly cracked his eyes open. The sound of rustling and sun slowly pouring into the room had just awoken him.
"Dad?" a soft voice spoke. What's going on? Taehyun wasn't even sure how early in the morning it was. He rubbed his face, pulling the crust away from the corners of his eyes.
"Dad? Hello?" the voice spoke again. In the blur of his poor vision, Taehyun watched as someone tip-toed across the boy's room. Chan?—it was Jung Sungchan. He was holding a phone up to his ear.
"Well I thought that you might've slept through your alarm again...like last week," Sungchan said as he approached the large window on the wall closest to Taehyun's futon. He's calling his dad? Taehyun listened in.
"Yeah, it's going good, they all seem to be having fun," Sungchan said blankly into the phone. Is he talking about us? Taehyun slowly started to roll over so he could see Sungchan, who was standing only a couple of feet away from him. Chan stared at the front lawn outside of the window, one hand in the pocket of his gray sweatpants.
"Mm...mhm..." Sungchan nodded to himself. Taehyun couldn't help but notice how Sungchan spoke the same with everyone. His grandparents, father, classmates, staff, and anyone else, all received the same blank and awkward tone from him.
"Did you..." Sungchan trailed off for a moment.
"...Did you take your medication?" Sungchan asked before looking back to see if anyone had woken up. Taehyun had never shut his eyes so fast in his life. Meds? Taehyun thought. After a pause, Sungchan let out a sigh.
"Take them—now," Sungchan said, his tone was a little harsher. Taehyun tensed.
"...Please," he added softly. His dad is on medication? What for? Taehyun wondered. A much longer pause filled the air, as if Sungchan was listening or waiting for something. Taehyun was starting to feel the impatient hands of sleep pull him back in, as his eyes were still closed.
"Thank you," Sungchan said.
"Yeah...okay—I know," he said. Sungchan closed his eyes for a moment.
"I love you too, Dad," after those words, Sungchan hung up the phone call. He slowly turned back around to observe the room full of sleeping boys behind him. He looked down the the futon closest to where he stood. And there, laid Kang Taehyun hugging his pillow, fast asleep.

~~~

It was around 10:00 AM now, and the house was alive with sounds coming from both floors. "Mmmm, smells good," Y/N said as she approached the stairs. Taehyun and Y/N stood by the staircase upstairs, still in their pajamas.
"I'm hungry," Taehyun rubbed his grumbling stomach. The door to the boys' room behind them opened. They both turned immediately.
"Somebody make breakfast?" Yeonjun asked as he rolled a gray t-shirt over his body. Taehyun scowled at his obvious ploy to show off his barely-existent abs.
"Sungchan's grandma," he sighed. Yeonjun raised his brows excitedly.
"Grandma? Say no more," Yeonjun smirked as started down the stars. I know he did not just...
"Ew—dude," Taehyun grimaced.
"What? Grandma food is the best food!" Yeonjun hopped down the stairs. Taehyun's face dropped. Oh, that's not what he meant, he realized.
"Your grandma doesn't make good food?" Y/N asked innocently. Taehyun paused awkwardly. Of course she didn't think anything of it, he thought.
"...I've never had a grandma," Taehyun said awkwardly before flashing a weird smile and running down the stairs.
"Oh," Y/N raised her brows.

The teens gathered around the two tables pushed together with folding chairs to accommodate the large group. Food was passed from plate to plate, family-style.
"Orange juice, Chan?" Chaewon gestured a big glass pitcher filled with an orange liquid to Sungchan.
"Yes...I would like some," he replied. At the other end of the table, Jisung sat in between Minji and Ryujin.
"You want...rice?" Minji asked Jisung who was cowering his shoulders inward and slouching like usual. He nodded.
"What about...an egg on top of it?" Ryujin suggested. He paused—then nodded again.
"Spam too?" Minji grinned. Jisung suddenly shook his head no.
"C'mon! This could be a big step for you!" Minji whined. Food—something Park Jisung wasn't sure if he just hated or was afraid of.
"...I don't wanna try it yet—I can't," he whispered. Ryujin sighed.
"It's just like a saltier hotdog! Remember when you ate those hotdog pieces, you liked it right?" Minji nudged him. Jisung bit his lip and shook his head again, a little unsure this time.
"You're eating one piece and that's final," Ryujin snatched his empty plate from in front of him. He reached his hands in the air to grab it but missed completely. Now, he could only watch with a helpless look as the plate grew farther away from him.
"Can I get some rice with an egg on top, yeah, and a piece of spam too?" Ryujin asked politely as she handed the plate to others down the table. Jisung pursed his lips.
"Just don't let it touch the rest of the food!" he yelped. The table immediately went silent, all attention directed towards Jisung. Chaewon accidentally spilled some of the orange juice. He gulped nervously.
"What the fu—" Taehyun was cut off.
"You reached a new decibel with that one," Minji whispered to him.
"Did he just talk—like loud?" Sungmin pointed his chopsticks at him. Renjun cleared his throat awkwardly.