yangyang gets home and immediately heads up to his bedroom. he busies himself with small tasks, putting away his laundry that renjun kindly folded up and left on his bed, washing up the dishes that he's let build up in his room for the last week; he even sweeps the hallway outside. he does all of this just in the hopes that kunhang gets back to him. but the phone call doesn't come that night. nor the next day, or the next.
yangyang begins to lose hope. maybe whatever was making the phone work has now broken. maybe kunhang doesn't even want to speak to him anymore. he just wants to dial the wong household's number in and call him, but unfortunately, they discovered that even that doesn't work. he's just starting to think his newfound interest in space and the facts he's collected to tell kunhang are going to waste, when the phone starts ringing again.
by this point, the sun has set and the silver moon shines bright over yangyang's house. the phone is just too loud, and yangyang lunges for the phone to shut it up (even though it seems like renjun can't hear it).
"kunhang!" he exclaims into the receiver, a bright smile lighting up his face.
"sorry i didn't call yangyang, there was a family emergency." kunhang says, and he sounds absolutely awful. his broken voice catches in his throat, and his nose appears to be blocked because he sounds funny. yangyang's smile immediately disappears
"what happened?" he asks, and kunhang is wrecked by a sob.
"i lost my mom." he says, and yangyang doesn't know what to do. if he had kunhang in front of him, he'd just hold him, reassure him that it will be okay, even if it doesn't fee like it. he'd promise that he'd be there for his friend the whole time. but all of that sounds disingenuous over the phone.
"i'm sorry." he says, and they stay quiet until kunhang settles down, just sniffling instead of full blown crying.
"i'll be okay." he says, voice tinged with bitterness. yangyang wants to give him a hug.
"can i do anything for you?" yangyang asks, and kunhang sighs. he can imagine him shrugging.
"i don't think so. a fifty year time barrier will do that." he half heartedly jokes. yangyang admires his ability to do so so soon after a tragedy to be honest.
"i feel so guilty." kunhang admits. yangyang finds it fascinating, and carefully presses for answers.
"i didn't treat her as well as i could." kunhang says eventually, and he decides that's a good enough answer for such a strange confession. yangyang looks out into their back garden, seeing the pale moonlight flood the space. it illuminates the empty flowerbeds and the sad, dying grass. he spots a couple small mole mounds, which perks him up a little bit. he loves moles! he will have to check them out at some point.
"yangyang? are you still there?" he hears kunhang say eventually, and he realises he has zoned out and ignored whatever kunhang just said.
"yeah, sorry. just spotted a couple dirt mole hills. i will be investigating them." he replies, and kunhang laughs shakily.
"leave them alone, yangyang, the moles probably don't want to be disturbed." he says, and yangyang pouts.
"but i love them." he reasons, but kunhang chides him.
"they might not love you back." he replies.
"yet." yangyang adds, before launching into his list of cool space facts he wants to tell kunhang. surely he can cheer him up that way.
-
renjun pulls him into his room midway through the week.
"okay dude, i didn't want to ask so directly, but are you like... schizophrenic?" he blurts, and yangyang stares at him.
"no?" he replies. he hopes he's not. renjun frowns.
"are you sure? 'cause like, we went through it in our psychology lectures and they said that the symptoms are social isolation, hallucinations, delusions, all that nonsense." he accuses, and yangyang laughs.
"i mean, i can explain all of those things. without being schizophrenic. you have jumped to a few conclusions here, dude." he folds his arms defensively, and renjun continues to stare him down. he slowly peels open the top of his pot of noodles.
"go on." yangyang sighs in response. he wasn't expecting to have to explain all of this to his roommate. it may be hard, and probably won't convince renjun he's not crazy.
"i've been talking to this guy-" he begrudgingly admits, and renjun cackles.
"i knew it! i knew it was some type of thing-"
"renjun, let me finish." he says shortly, leading renjun to pout. he tucks his hands into the pockets of his sweatpants, huffing like a bratty child.
"well, uh... it's complicated.i can't really talk to him on my own so i wait for him to call me. which is why i've been spending so much time in my room." he says, and renjun rolls his eyes, withdrawing his hands to dig into his pot of ramen.
"continue."
"well... he didn't call me for a few days so i was a bit miffed, and then he told me his mom died the other day so i'm not really sure what to say." he says. renjun still looks unimpressed.
"that's it? you're just going to admit you're talking to a guy?" renjun deadpans, and yangyang shrugs.
"dude, i know you've never dated a guy but i can kinda guess that you're some type of fruity. this is not news to me, twink." he continues, and yangyang's mouth hangs open.
"no- not in that- i'm not gay!" he exclaims in response. renjun sighs and waves him away.
"come back to me when you're going to give me more details that suggest otherwise then." renjun replies. yangyang is almost outraged.
"dude, he literally lives in 1969, even if i was gay that doesn't work, does it?" he blurts out, renjun drops his fork. he spits out his ramen.
"what?" he says, and renjun is watching him like he's a bomb that's just appeared in his room, about to explode. a bit concerned, but definitely interested.
"you really need to see a psychiatrist man." renjun says shakily.
"no, no, i swear. but the problem is that you can't seem to hear the phone ringing and-"
"oh no, i can. i just wanted to fuck around with you at first because i thought it was a prank caller. i was starting to wonder who you are calling." renjun replies, and yangyang slaps him.
"ow!" renjun exclaims, holding his now red cheek gingerly.
"shut up, you've been able to hear the whole time?" he says, and renjun sighs.
"dude, how do you know this guy is for real? like, anyone could say they were from another time and fuck with you. are you sure you're not just really gullible?" renjun reasons.
"bro, he doesn't even know that the usa lands on the moon before russia." yangyang replies, but renjun still seems unimpressed and unmoved.
"anyone could lie about that." he says, and yangyang caves.
"next time he calls, you can come talk to him. he's meant to bury a time capsule soon." he relents, and renjun claps his hands.
"great! i get to watch your delusions in real time."
-
yangyang might be starting to lose it.
what if renjun is right? not about kunhang being real, he knows that. but about the... gay.
yangyang doesn't think he is. he finds girls hot. like really hot. and fuck, is this why women like to talk to him? he's read stuff online where girls like hanging around gay or taken guys because they're less intimidating. and less likely to pursue them.
is this why all the women he speaks to give him funny looks before giving him their numbers? has he been walking around for the last like... three years exuding the energy of a twink? he finds kunhang charming. and funny. but like, aren't those qualities you look for in good friends too? he's pretty sure renjun is also charming and funny.
and he doesn't even know what kunhang looks like, for gods sake. how can he be attracted to him? isn't that like the number one defining factor?
but to be fair, he's started to look forward to his conversations with kunhang. he passes up opportunities to hang out with other friends, and even renjun, increasingly often. oh god, is this one of renjun's reasons for suspecting schizophrenia (or general descent into craziness)?
however, he also did this when he first made friends with renjun. so what does that mean? fuck, did it seem like he wanted to fuck renjun when he was sixteen? he cringes, hiding his face in his hands.
eventually, yangyang's stomach speaks louder than his 'philosophical inner monologue', and he has to venture into the kitchen for food. unfortunately, renjun is there.
"you okay? any more deranged than the last time we spoke?" he asks, and yangyang frowns at him.
"no. but i do need to ask you something a bit embarrassing." he replies, and renjun raises an eyebrow, setting his freshly made coffee on the counter next to him. he grins, but in an 'i told you so' way. he knows.
"uh, when we like made friends- did i like... seem like i wanted to fuck you. at any point." he says, face turning red as he watches renjun burst into laughter.
"god, yes, you did. everyone thought you did." he says, trying his best to collect himself. yangyang groans.
"is that why you think i'm gay?" he asks as renjun is still catching his breath.
"partly." renjun's answers just irritate yangyang more; he never says enough to answer his question. he always makes yangyang ask more and metaphorically, dig his own grave. the questions often begin to answer themselves before he realises.
"why else." he says shortly, demanding more out of renjun.
"there are too many things to count, my dear yangyang. figure it out yourself." renjun says, before picking up his coffee and carefully brushing yangyang.
"does it still look like i want to fuck you?" he blurts out as renjun reaches the bottom of the stairs. he stares back at yangyang with an irritated and tired look in his eyes.
"as i said, figure it out yourself." renjun replies, ignoring all of yangyang's further questions.
oh god, that definitely means yes.
-
eventually, a week later, the phone rings again. yangyang is ecstatic.
"how are you?" he asks, not wanting to overwhelm his new friend immediately. kunhang seems to appreciate the calm approach more.
"i'm good, thanks. sorry i didn't call." kunhang replies, and yangyang has to pretend he isn't a bit irritated by it. this guy kept logs of their first conversation. why wouldn't he be able to let yangyang know if they can't call for that long?
"what about you?" yangyang beams.
"i'm actually really good. had nice lunch too. getting a phone call from you also helps." he says, and he cringes at how desperate it sounds. it's the type of thing you say while lying on your front and kicking your legs while calling a girlfriend. not a random guy you've not even met.
"ah. that's nice to hear." kunhang says. they sit in comfortable silence, and yangyang can hear music softly playing in the background of kunhang's end.
" what are you listening to?" he asks.
"this band my friend mark introduced me to. pretty sure they're japanese. les rallizes denudes?" he says, and of course, yangyang isn't shocked that he has no idea who kunhang is talking about. but he smiles.
"i do, actually. what song is it?" he isn't even lying. while it's muffled, yangyang can definitely hear some calm and relaxing music playing in the background. a nice change from the noise of the radio in present day.
"it's called 'white awakening'. if you listen to more of their music, let me know." kunhang says gently, and yangyang starts zoning out a bit. he just wants to be sat there with him. why can't this new friend be normal?
"who is mark?" yangyang asks next, and kunhang clearly wasn't paying attention because he has to repeat his question before he gets an answer.
"oh? mark is one of my childhood best friends. he's one of the only people who's my age at the moment." kunhang answers. it gets yangyang thinking.
"not to be nosy, but were you born in 1949?" he asks. it's not the most slickly worded question ever but kunhang seems to have become accustomed to his informality now."
"yeah. why?" kunhang replies, but thankfully it isn't a reply that sounds offended. wowie, 1949 was a long time ago.
"it's just crazy to think about. like, world war two ended a bit before? it's hard to imagine in my head."
"ah. the second war." kunhang says, and yangyang just loves listening to him talk. he should introduce the concept of audiobooks early to listen to him more.
"i learnt about it in school. but it just sounds so like.. far away. sorry if this is insensitive. i can stop-"
"no, don't worry." kunhang interrupts his word vomit (thankfully). it gives him a moment of silence to think.
"i expect the version you have been taught is highly sanitised compared to reality. but it is important that they are at least teaching history." kunhang says, and yangyang hears him flipping through a book (more rustling of paper on his end) and sipping some tea.
"it is lovely that you are so fascinated in my life yangyang, but unfortunately i do need to go to bed." he says, and yangyang pouts.
"really? you can't sleep in to make up for it?"
"no, i do the newspaper delivery in the morning. can't miss out on my job. or the money." kunhang replies, and yangyang snorts.
"would't have taken you as a paper boy." he comments, and kunhang laughs.
"i know. but i like helping out. besides, surely you need to sleep as well?" he asks, and yangyang sheepishly looks at the time before replying.
"most nights i sleep later than this." he admits, and hears a tired sigh from kunhang.
"you should sleep earlier. it does wonders for your health. goodnight, yangyang." he says, before the line goes dead. and yangyang might just try.