Lost in Translation Drabbles

SQ - I Loved You (I Still Do, See?) (Taeho)

Warning: Minor character death, implied abuse and angst, be prepared. As usual, if you aren't comfortable with either of these subjects, please click off. ♡

Dongho knew he was better than that, better than him. A boy with hair dyed to look like some shitty caramel, his build athletic and tall. His clothes were spotless and modern, his face equally as elegant. Though he lacked in the only thing Dongho had; his emotions were non-existent. I just wish he could see that... That the man Taeseok loved had no emotions, only expressions to serve as proof for their relationship. When Taeseok wasn't around, the man who held so much energy, so much appreciation for life, he was stone cold, dead, but somehow had a pulse. 

But that was the case for Taeseok as well, wasn't it?

"Ever has it been that love knows not its own depth until the hour of separation."

Kahlil Gibran

Years, Dongho had wasted years of his youth for the attention of a boy who never loved him. He could've though, right? Dongho tried to push the thought away from the rest, setting it away for another time. Instead he reflected on his first meeting with the boy, when Taeseok was five and Dongho was seven. Dongho had thought it was a bit odd for his mother to insist he introduce himself to some kindergartener when he was going to second grade next year but he complied. Their new neighbors had moved quite a few houses down, so by the time Dongho had reached their modest farmhouse on the corner he felt sweaty and sticky. Dongho vividly remembered the old piles of cut grass off to the side of the younger's house, the round plum lillies with bursts of yellow. But the moment he remembered most clearly was the little boy that had opened the door, peeking from behind the entrance curtains. Kiddie Taeseok had chubby cheeks and black hair back then, Dongho even went as far as to say he had some freckles.

"I'm from the house," Dongho panted, the heat starting to bother him, "down there." He pointed towards his house, Kiddie Taeseok staring down the street with wide eyes. "My mother wanted to give you guys these as a welcome gift..." Dongho lifted the wax paper his mother had taped down to a plate full of apple platz. The younger observed the treat for a few seconds before motioning Dongho to enter the house, shutting the door as Dongho awkwardly shuffled into his foyer. Taeseok went running all over the house, laughing and calling his mother as Dongho took off his shoes to be greeted by Taeseok's mother, Mrs. Kim.

"Sorry about Taeseok, he get's very excited easily..." Mrs. Kim let out a hearty laugh and took the plate from Dongho, leaving momentarily to place it on their kitchen counter. "So Dongho, is your mother's last name Kang, by any chance?" Dongho nodded, earning a little clap from Mrs. Kim. "Great, we met earlier today! Maybe we could arrange something some time..." she hummed. 

Mrs. Kim was amazing, Dongho thought, closing his eyes for a moment. She died last year, apparently due to liver failure. It was something neither of the boys expected, especially Taeseok. Dongho knew the boy secretly suspected his late father who died a few months after in a car accident for her death, but he also knew he wouldn't say it out loud. Taeseok was the type to never voice his thoughts aloud because that would be taboo and could "jinx it all." Though Dongho saw the way he looked as his parent's coffins were lowered into the ground, the way his eyes narrowed when his uncle spoke about how much his father loved his mother.

The night after, when the boys were preparing for their flight back home, Taeseok had drank enough liquor for the both of them. And only a few hours before they had to leave their hotel room for the airport, Dongho woke up to find Taeseok crying into his pillow, desperately trying to muffle the sound with the blankets. Dongho pulled Taeseok into his arms that night, petting his hair and trying to whisper words of comfort. Eventually the pair fell asleep, limbs tangled together and all.