NeoNara || TXT || taebin || yeonkai

2016: Sunday, Part One

2016, DAY THREE
Sunday, August 15, 2016 9:23 AM

Taehyun knows his luck has run out even before he opens his eyes.

The first sign that he is awake is a pounding headache, followed by realizing his right ear isn't ringing, but feels like it's stuffed full of cotton. He hums, softly, then turns and buries his face in his pillow. Another Meniere's morning. But at least it magically waited until Sunday.

Taehyun probably won't leave the RV today. But that's okay.

"Soobin?" He doesn't hear anything, so, "Soobin, I'm sick, where are you?"

Taehyun feels a hand on his shoulder blade, and he relaxes, knowing it's Soobin. "Hi, baby. My ear hurts."

"Aww, sweetheart." Taehyun feels Soobin pull him into his arms, shift so they're both laying on their right sides, so Soobin can talk into his left ear. "You did so good, baby. You did so good."

Taehyun tries not to cry and fails. "I feel gross."

"I know. You're allowed to feel gross."

"I wanted to — I mean — aargh. I wanted to go do things today."

"You don't have to do anything today." Soobin pauses. "Yesterday, I was in bed all day. Today, it's your turn, okay?"

It reminds Taehyun of yesterday's drama. "Are you okay, Soobin?"

"Yeah, I —" Soobin tries not to think about it. "Just don't talk about it, I'll be okay, it'll be okay. I need to just get used to it or something. Let me get up, baby. I'm gonna check on things. You — check on yourself, okay? You got your dot if you need it." There is now a black dot on the ceiling of the camper's bedroom, identical to the ones at Taehyun's bedroom in Inwood and also in his parents' house. Staring at the dot stops the vertigo...and everything else.

And Taehyun rolls onto his back and opens his eyes, looks at the dot. He moves, slowly, from side to side, then sits up. He feels fatigued, he wants this headache to go away, and his ear is being awful, but he's not dizzy. When he stands, he plants both feet firmly on the ground, then uses the newly-installed handrails to walk out of the bedroom and into the small bathroom.

"You okay, baby?" Soobin calls from the kitchen.

"Yeah. Awake. Okay."

"Okay, baby, let me know what you need." Soobin already knows he's been blocked by his entire family on KakaoTalk. He'll need to go to the embassy at some point to talk to them about his service; without a mailing address in Korea, he'll need his location in America updated so they can contact him. The summons itself is still all the way back in Korea, with his father. Perhaps the embassy will come up with some ideas on how to help Taehyun while he goes — that is, if they don't immediately write him off as crazy for being gay.

Someone knocks on the door, and Soobin looks out the window — it's Yeonjun and Kai, so he opens it. "Oh, hey, guys."

"We were just checking in on you and Taehyun," Yeonjun says. He has been texting Soobin all morning, asking for updates. "We were going to the breakfast tent. Want anything?"

"Oh, yeah, just our usual." With that, Soobin closes the door — and immediately opens it. "Wait, Kai? What are you doing here?"

Yeonjun and Kai look at each other. Then, they look back at Soobin, and they grin.

"Did the two of you get laid last night?" Soobin asks in shock, using words he would only reserve for Yeonjun.

"Who's screaming?" Taehyun moans from the back.