GET SUN

He’s thought of other lives they must’ve lived that doesn’t end in separation. Thought of the possibilities if they tried a little harder. Took risks beyond their capacities. Reject safeness, their familiarity of home, for one another. But the resolve has come down to this, with a disconnect left unsaid and with one of the two men insistently dropping their gaze a heartbeat too late.

They linger around each other waiting for something to happen, anything. But a month becomes two, then three, four, five, six, and all Junggyu does is look forward to Minhyun stopping by the distillery by means of obligation. He’s—ostensibly—only glad to see Minhyun for the sake of closeness, that he won’t bail out on Junggyu for Seoul. It’d make Junggyu a piece of shit to admit, but even a greater piece of shit if he said it between his teeth, that he’d like Minhyun to stay in Seomri, so long as Junggyu, too, is within reach. Even if he has nowhere else to go, alike Cha Junggyu. They’re kindred more than they’d like to lead on.

In any case, some days Minhyun doesn’t come at all. Other times, it’s his manager who texts him on his day off: “wheat barrel manager showed up. Glasses. Told him you were away”. Junggyu doesn’t respond. He’ll see Minhyun the next day, and the day after, and however many more times they won’t exhaust each other of this ache.

A deep exhale: “This is the last of it,” Junggyu announces, hoisting up a large box. He can hear the bottles clinking against each other once it rests on the back of the bar’s counter. “Yuja, peach, strawberry—they’re all in there. Only makgeolli today. Your inventory count on beer should be fine ‘till Saturday. Something happened to the fermentation process, but it’ll turnaround faster, rest assured.”

Junggyu’s detachment is slow and practiced. He wonders if Minhyun’s is, too. Or if the two are playing the long game of eventual collapse under pressure.

He looks to the window across the bar. He watches as people pass by. Not particularly focusing on any face, any nameless soul, but to relax his tired eyes on anything that isn’t Minhyun. Except, that he can’t.

“You, uh..” he starts, the bass in Junggyu’s voice trailing, falling flat. “You said you wanted to talk.” A statement. “It’s been a real long day for me and I’m just trying to get home right about now. Wanna make it quick?”

Seomri’s just a ghost off a mountainous periphery. Seamlessly comforted by the lives here, sustained by families, communities. He wonders what it’s like for Hyein—Kim Hyein—a sort of harbinger for commitment. Dedication.

The last time he had written a letter to her was from the river bank of Yangtze. He had asked about the family business, and about the horses, the stables, the sheep, and the cows and the chickens. And if Seomri is due for rain showers. And something about would she ever be self-serving like he is. Though Cha Junggyu is a man and most men are incapable of sacrifices for the better good.

In the letter, he goes on to wish her good health and vitality. It was May and he has no inclination to return to the mainland, much less Seomri. He doesn’t write that for Hyein to read. Instead, his memory recalled having provoked Hyein’s interest to abandon all that she has ever cultivated. To abandon and suspend her world for his. They’d see the Earth’s edges and everything in between and Haedam’s heiress would turn her back on Seomri forever. He wrote the same thing in every letter for a year.

And yet, Kim Hyein stands upright, steadfast, and unwavering as her purpose still endures in Seomri.

The wheat of Haedam grazes Junggyu’s waist. The late afternoon sun still above the two, he feels a tepid warmth on his shoulders. He tries not to bring up the “what if” predicament. They have a good thing going, easy and languid. Junggyu looks ahead of him and over his left shoulder at Hyein. He smiles at a thought that revisits him from boyhood.

“Remember when I’d fall off your damn horses when you used to teach me? How old were we—eleven? Twelve?” Junggyu looks ahead, above at the sun, and back at Hyein. “The training did me pretty good out there. Some things are never really left forgotten, muscle memory and all. So I’d like to thank you for that.”

He stretches his arms out in front of him. “They asked if I had an instructor and I gloated that it was with some girl that I grew up with. I mean, not just some girl, but you know.” Junggyu continues, “Besides, how else was I supposed to say that you were a professional equestrian at twelve?”

cha junggyu, 32

footnote blurb wip!

tw / alcoholism, abusive fathers idk

OK BOOM his dad’s a semi(?)-functioning alcoholic so it runs in the family i fear?? cha donggil is either the coolest, warmest person you know but after a few too many drinks after his looong truck driving shifts then his true colors start to seep through and he’s just.. no longer a person you want to stay around for too long. junggyu learned to constantly walk on eggshells at home, along with his sister cha nahyun, and the very enabler is his now-retired school teacher for a mother: park sunhee. donggil still raised his family like the damn navy so prepare for junggyu to overshare instances of ab*se while he’s not trying not to laugh like “yeah when i was 8 yrs old my dad tossed me into dadaepo and said SWIM OR DIE—wait why do u look concerned. u can laugh, pls laugh!” (he’s coping) (who said that..)

anyways you can already guess it.. junggyu was kind of a problem child growing up, often finding himself in petty trouble whether that mean being the class clown in school by getting kicked outta class, or getting chased by local store owners for stealing, you get the idea. harmless, boyish foolishness right! it got so bad that his grandma (who lives in seomri!) took him to the police station after finding out he stole about 30,200 krw worth of snacks. he was sobbing and everybody’s laughing at his ass and they “detained” him behind bars for like 5 minutes. cha junggyu was scared straight and never stole after that nor did he want to turn to a life of crime (he was like 12)

(needless to say tho in conjunction to ^ above) i think he struggled a lot with reclaiming his masculinity growing up because he lacked overt masculine features, bro looks exactly like his mom :/ his homeboys would always poke jokes about looking like a girl even when his hair was short (and he kept it short for 20-ish yrs), but wallahi his dad’s a chauvinistic bully Who Wanted Him To Man Up so no wonder junggyu would look out to do anything that reaffirm that he’s a man and all. always lookin’ for trouble to feel he’s got some kinda authority somewhere but really it’s just him having a poor male-dominated support system that wants to fail him lmfao

while he is from busan, his extended family on his mom’s side all reside in seomri! junggyu used to visit as a child during the summer and he’d stop by during chuseok or seollal. he knows the small town like the back of his hand so it holds a lot of nostalgic value and novelty to him, even in spite of seomri’s usual reputation so he’ll find ways to defend it in anyway he can. he used to be restless spending time in seomri as a child but his opinion has changed well into adulthood. yes, a city side, sea side guy with high opinions for a place like seomri? crazy right

having returned from the military after hs graduation, junggyu essentially worked hella jobs to save up for uni as it was the only thing to do for someone his age. but also it’s about time he starts doing as he’s told!! bro chose an overly concentrated major that miraculously landed him a gig at some whatever big shot tech firm in seoul and everything was looking up! until he couldn’t handle the stuffy and suffocating nature of a corporate job! cha junggyu cannot kiss ass for a promotion for the life of him! so he eventually got terminated after getting into it with one of his bosses about stealing his coding ideas as part of his own blah blah blah IT’S HELL

so enter the jobless 20-something-old with a degree that’s collecting dust somewhere. what’s the most logical thing he can do without any desire to go back to busan? backpacking all over the continent of asia with whatever his savings could offer him! he traveled probs about a year all over asia so: mongolia, sri lanka, kazakhstan, japan, vietnam, bhutan, east of turkey, the philippines, hong kong, pleasepleaseplease ask him about his travels. <3 he’s a globetrotter at its finest! junggyu was living his best life akin to anthony bourdain (rip the goat) and his travel documentaries. along the way he picked up the local dialect/language of whatever country he was in + put his skills to the test: map navigation, tent building, gear maintenance/repairs, etc. he learned a lot about himself, a great portion of the world, and others during the year-long trek :’)

the traveling truly emphasized his appreciation for various spirits. junggyu visited many breweries, distilleries, and wineries far and wide, local or historically known. he enjoys a good drink with a meal, and he especially has come to enjoy the artistry behind the sommelier-approach of it all, so much so that he can’t comprehend abusing it the way his father by inhibiting the sensory experience of responsible drinking.

by the time his nomadic journeys have narrowed to its conclusion was when he ended up back in seomri just as returning home to busan wasn’t much of an option. well, busan technically was an option but who wants to come back to the place they’ve been all their life, and for what? the local distillery (baramdeul!) would essentially offer apprenticeships upon his national certifications. he would eventually be promoted to a Master Distiller from his original position after acquiring said diplomas, various national training, etc. he doesn’t aspire to become the greatest distiller or sommelier in the world, no, no, but rather put seomri on the map for its commitment to producing locally-known makgeolli and beer. like wallahi kinda ironic that he’s dedicating his life to the one thing that has ruined junggyu’s dad’s life lmfao

but yeah i think that’s it for now :3 i can happily yap about specifics in the dms if needed be

personality

incredibly outgoing and painfully so? a people person! idk if you’ve seen this gif floating around or if i’m too chronically online but that’s literally junggyu. he’ll always find ways to include people into a conversation and lends an ear. he’s both an incredible listener and yapper, but also has an eye for providing space to let people open up: doesn’t have to be in a vulnerability/sensitivity aspect, but it’s more so about junggyu taking people out their shells! i’d like to think he’s fairly charismatic? i think he’s also very animated.. someone put him on a game show

that being said tho i think junggyu possesses a chameleon-like quality to him? he’s somehow able to sway ideas or adjust to the temperament of others, not in the people pleasing aspect but like.. he’s able to find a common ground (similarities) with Almost anybody he gets to know. not always, but sometimes! so almost? i suppose that also makes him incredibly observant of unspoken social cues in public too :0 or i guess mood/environmental changes.. hmm

he excels under pressure and in fast-pace environments, which is funny bc why is he in seomri of all places right? well, that constant energy will eventually combust into burn-out, so, in that regard he’s completely self-aware. in addition, i think the need for speed, excitement, and instant gratification hinders his ability to make decisions when that’s all he’s chasing so :/ it’s Okay to take risks, but make smarter decisions when doing them right?

lmao i wanna say he’s also mischievous but not in the middle school aged boy way but like.. fjidgfokdfiojdf i’m sorry cha junggyu loves fucking around and finding out because if he doesn’t end up doing it then how will he know, y’know?

#stupidlywhimsy #IsItOptimism #OrDelusion

connections / plot ideas?? omg these are dry asf bear with me bc i swear i’m a yapper type of plotter/writer

ppl he has met at work and it became something more outside of your chara being a client! friends! acquaintances!!

childhood friends and whatnot.. like what’s tea bc junggyu would only be around for a month in the summer..

ppl he works out with? any runners? footballers? makeshift muay thai, uh, students?

possible ppl he met while going thru it in seoul? like what’s the connection

exes?? what’s tea? *druski voice* yeah having a boyfriend ain’t gonna work.