the sky of jaeyongâs life is clearer now. there are still clouds, but it finally stopped storming. jaeyong hesitates to let his guard downâ knows the danger of it âbut if he looks hard enough, part of this life is the most beautiful blue heâs ever seen.
he is in love, and he loves his job, and he is finally unlearning the tension that made him steel himself for whatever training would face him that day.Â
if he thinks too much, the smaller role hunting plays in his life troubles him, because what is he if not a song hunter? (happier, maybe.)
so he doesnât think too much. instead, he lives in every moment, and laughs through them as always, always putting any negativity on the backburner until it fades from his mind, left to lead to some nuclear meltdown at a later date.Â
it seems like he has less time now than ever, and yet he has more drive to fill his life with warmth. he, finally, is willing to do the work it takes to receive it, and keep it, and maybe to even deserve it. he realized bit by bit that he didnât have to manipulate people, that there was some truth to seoyun calling him brainwashed, that there was joy in sincerity.
donât get him wrong; manipulation is still fun. he knows better than to claim heâs a good person and believe it even now. he simply has all the love he needs now.
he gets it from huangjun, and he returns it, and maybe their love is a storm in its own right, but the kind that comes after a drought, bringing everything back to life. he canât help but think of him now, sitting alone at a table in his favorite restaurant close to his new workplace, waiting for taeyoon.
jaeyong reached out first. jaeyong was too distracted by his own battles, manipulation turned on another target, to keep up with taeyoon much. he likely proved how little their relationship mattered to him, and how much he saw taeyoon as nothing but someone to use for his own benefit, monopolizing his attention, giving nothing genuine in return. maybe taeyoon knows the truth, or maybe he doesnât, but now that the dust has settled, jaeyong thinks he mightâve mattered more than he thought.
it was enough to text him and ask him how he was doing, at least, and to coordinate lunch to catch up. he hasnât seen taeyoon since he replaced the bandage on his vampire bite and tracked down the party guilty of the attack. jaeyong figured taeyoon had more of a personal stake in that vampireâs wellbeing than he originally anticipated, and that had something to do with their lack of communication, but he was content to let their relationship fall to the wayside then.
taeyoon seemed more than willing to meet up, however, and jaeyong isâŚrelieved. maybe he even missed taeyoon, in all of his over-eager admiration.
he looks up when he hears the chime on the door, indicating a new customer, and sure enough, there taeyoon is. jaeyong shoots him a characteristic crooked smile, and it stays on his face even as taeyoon sits down and he says, âlong time no see.â
 ââââââââââââââ @feytaeyoon ââââââââââââââââ
