𝐟𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐛𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫 ⋆ lee taeyeob [discontinued]

better

2:19 pm

on the way to the mall , another flashback of the white haired man flashes before my eyes , burning my eyelids . he frowns at me and shakes his head . but anyways , finally ! we have arrived at the mall ! hurrahh ! the traffic was absolutely horrible and the two men escorting me exchange glances at eachother . i stare at them a little but immediately shift my attention to my surroundings . it seems familiar in a unfamiliar way , like i'm experiencing deja vu . like i'm lost in another world i only visit in my dreams that are left forgotten . 

it's like i'm dead and my soul is in another's body . 

god , i'm morbid . sungho gets me cotton candy , which is horrible . it's sugary and fluffy and melts in your mouth . it's diabetes . but it tastes nice once i start sharing with sungho and jisung . 

"should we head straight to the arcade , sir ?" jisung offers and i nod , still awe struck of the sight of a mall that i once knew . we head to the arcade on the floors above and if i were to describe my reaction to the attraction , it would be like a dog seeing a bone or a bug flying towards light . we exchange money for tokens then roll into the dark play area . dance revolution ? what in the name of holy jackson wang's noodles is that ? 

i point at it , looking at both jisung and sungho . they break out a giggle , sungho wiping a small tear in the corner of his eye . "that's a dance game thing . basically , you just look at the screen and try to copy all the moves ," jisung says . " exactly what he said and uh , it's like tap dancing ." sungho narrows his eyes at the machine and nods his head .

jisung and i look at him like he's transforming into a cockroach right before us . 

"it is absolutely not like tap-dancing , sungho." jisung replies , like he's been insulted .

"i mean , you put your feet in this squares and step here and there ," sungho demonstrates by stepping on squares . he looks like he needs the bathroom . badly .

"try to show us how you tap dance then ," jisung folds his arm , challenging the lovely sungho . sungho has no further words and inserts two tokens . music blasts out of the small speakers and he cracks his knuckles before he starts dancing .

people stop around us . it is quite strange to see fancy dressed men hyping another suited man breakdancing . especially if we look like we just stepped out of men in black . what sungho is doing is breakdancing/tap dancing/street/pop and locking . it's all out of the place and now he's doing a sort of crab dance . snap snap to the left . snap snap to the right .

he then does a robot dance then ends with a laidback lean onto the orange bar . he looks over his shoulder , casting a confident smirk . jisung and i clap in laughter . the crowd claps and applauds then dissipates away .

"that wasn't tap dancing , sungho ." jisung holds sungho's shoulder and looks at eachother lovingly before finally paying attention to me . "would you like to try , sir ?" sungho says and i make a face . "i'd break a back ," we three laugh and continue to play other games .

3:58 am

all the tokens are gone . who knew riding arcade motorcycles could almost fracture jisung's leg . we descend to a cafe , which seems like a secret cafe in this mall . it's all the way in the back and the scent of jasmine flowers is so strong i have to pinch my nose . "flowers ," i manage to choke out . "is it too strong for you , sir?" they both chirp with concern and i try to maintain composure . 

"ha..ha , not really . let's go !" i stop pinching my nose and try to breathe as little air as i can . we are seated at the backroom of the cafe which is hidden behind velvet curtains . what reveals in the room is a man in all black lazy but fashionable street wear . the man stands up so fast , his chair goes toppling down backwards . 

he bows a perfect 90 degrees . "sir , good afternoon ." he says softly , almost like he's whimpering . "mill ," i try to give the friendliest smile but he seems more freaked out . " sit , sit ." i say and he waits for me to sit first before fixing his chair and settling down . sungho and jisung stand on my sides , probably sensing mill's fear . 

"i'd like to really just apologise for my past actions . sorry for being the person i was before i got bashed in the head by random people . i'm not the person i was before and i'm trying to change . i'm sorry for almost killing you and i know sorry won't cut it but really , i am so sorry ." 

mill looks at me . then looks at sungho . then looks at jisung . then proceeds to put on a face like 'what the hell is going on with my boss' . i chew on my lip , worried with his response . "you don't have to accept it , but i just really needed to let you know i am so sorry ." i say again and look down at the table . 

he gulps in a big breath , stands up and bows another perfect bow . "i am sorry , thank you for inviting me for this and i accept your apology . i am going to leave . have a good day ," he leaves swiftly and i can only hope that he really means he's forgiven me . but that went better than expected .