The argument started over something stupid.
"It's literally 2,000 won. You're acting like we're investing in stocks." Jihoon said, already halfway turned toward the convenience store.
"It adds up. You said that yesterday. And the day before." Seojun replied without looking at him. He kept walking, hands in his pockets, pace steady. "That was different."
"It wasn't."
"It was emotionally different."
"That's not—That's not a real category." Seojun exhaled through his nose. Behind them, Daeun laughed under her breath. "I kind of get what he means." Daeun chimed in defensively. "You would." Seojun muttered.
"I'm just saying, sometimes snacks are necessary for survival." Daeun continued. "They are not—" Seojun sighed. "They absolutely are. You think I'm this strong for free? This is a cultivated physique." Jihoon cut in, spinning around to walk backward.
"You ate three ice creams during lunch." Seojun pointed out. "And I'm still standing, aren't I?" Jihoon smirked. "That's not evidence of anything." Seojun shook his head.
"You're going to get a stomachache later. Don't come crying to me." Minseo sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. "I never cry." Jihoon snorted. "You absolutely cry." Minseo said flatly.
"I do not—"
"You cried last week because your ramen was too spicy." Seojun cut in. "That was a physiological reaction!" Jihoon shouted. "You were tearing up and apologizing to the noodles." Minseo added.
"That's—okay, that's not relevant right now." Jihoon muttered.
Ara walked slightly apart from them, gaze unfocused but not really. She wasn't looking at the street so much as the movement within it, the rhythm of passing people, the subtle shifts in attention, the way conversations flowed and broke.
And Taeyang.
He wasn't arguing.
That was the first thing she noticed.
He walked a few steps ahead, hands in his pockets, head tilted slightly like he was listening to something just out of range. A faint smile tugged at the corner of his mouth, not wide, not loud. Just…there.
Watching.
Waiting.
"…And I'm telling you, if we just go in for five minutes—" Jihoon continued. "You said that last time. It was twenty." Seojun exhaled. "Time moves differently in there." Jihoon shrugged. "That's not how time works." Daeun snorted.
"It is if you believe—" Jihoon smiled.
"Stop."
They didn't.
Taeyang's smile sharpened just a little.
He slowed his steps, letting them catch up, then drifted sideways toward the edge of the street where a small vendor cart sat under a faded umbrella.
The smell hit first—sweet syrup, fried batter, something warm and familiar. The vendor, an older man with tired eyes, was flipping hotteok on a small griddle. The oil sizzled softly, steady and controlled.
Everything about it felt…contained.
Predictable.
Taeyang stopped.
"You're broke." Seojun said immediately, not even looking. "I didn't say anything." Taeyang replied. "You were about to." Seojun replied knowingly. "I wasn't." Taeyang said. "You slowed down." Seojun pointed out.
"That's not illegal." Taeyang smirked. "It's a pattern." Seojun exhaled.
"Wait—are we actually stopping? Because I'm suddenly very invested in this." Jihoon queried as he leaned over Seojun's shoulder.
"We're not—" Seojun said. "We could just—" Jihoon said. "No." Seojun shook his head.
"Okay, okay, what if we just look? No buying, just…appreciation." Daeun smiled as she stepped between them slightly. "That's worse. That leads to buying." Seojun said. "If anyone gets anything, you're all sharing. I'm not dealing with sugar crashes later." Minseo sighed as she crossed her arms.
"I don't crash." Jihoon told her. "You do." Minseo told him.
"I—okay, sometimes, but—"
While they argued, Taeyang had already moved. Of course, he had. He stepped up to the cart, leaning slightly on the edge as he belonged there. The vendor glanced up, wary but polite. "Hotteok?" The man asked.
"How many have you sold today?" Taeyang questioned as he tilted his head. "Excuse me?" The man blinked.
"Just curious. Business good?" Taeyang explained, his smile widened a fraction.
"…It's fine."
"Define 'fine.'"
Seojun was already walking over. "Ignore him. We're not buying anything." Seojun told the older man. "Wow. Rude." Taeyang said without looking back. "You're the one interrogating him." Seojun pointed out.
"I'm making conversation." Taeyang shrugged. "You're not." Seojun rolled his eyes. The vendor's attention flicked between them, tension creeping into his shoulders. Taeyang noticed.
Of course he did.
He tapped a finger lightly against the cart's edge. "You ever get people who just…take one?" Taeyang asked. "What?" The man frowned. "Like—They don't ask. They grab it. What do you do?" Taeyang asked, reaching out, fingers hovering just above one of the hotteok.
Seojun's hand clamped down on his wrist before he could touch it. "Don't." Seojun said seriously. "I wasn't going to." Taeyang replied, glancing sideways at him, with an easy grin.
"You were."
"I wasn't."
"You were literally—"
"I was thinking about it."
"That's worse."
"He's got a point." Jihoon snorted. "No, he doesn't—" Seojun exhaled. Taeyang's gaze shifted back to the vendor. "So?" Taeyang asked. "I tell them to pay." The man replied, his jaw tightening.
"And if they don't?" Taeyang questioned. "They don't get another one." The older man answered. "That's it?" Taeyang queried. "…What else would I do?" The vendor responded. Taeyang hummed softly, like he was disappointed.
"You could stop them before they take it." He said. "Are you going to take one?" The man asked as his eyes narrowed.
There it was. The shift. Subtle, but real. Tension pulled tight across the space, thin as a wire. Taeyang's smile deepened. "No." He said lightly. And then he did it anyway.
Not a full grab, just a quick, almost lazy movement. His fingers brushed the edge of one hotteok, nudging it just enough that it slipped and fell. Straight off the griddle. Oil spat sharply as it hit the ground. For a second, everything froze.
Then—
"Hey!" The vendor shouted as he lunged forward, anger snapping through his voice. "You—" Seojun swore under his breath.
"I didn't even take it. It fell." Taeyang said, stepping back easily, hands raised in mock surrender. "You—!" The old man yelled. "It was already unstable. See? Bad placement." Taeyang added, glancing down at the fallen hotteok.
"That's not—" The vendor said. "Stop." Seojun's voice cut clean through the noise. Not loud. Not aggressive. Just…final.
He stepped forward, placing himself between Taeyang and the vendor in one smooth motion. His posture shifted, subtle, but deliberate. Shoulders squared, tone controlled.
"I'm sorry. We'll pay for it." He said, already reaching for his wallet.
"You should. Kids these days—no respect—" The vendor snapped. "I said we'll pay." Seojun exhaled irritably. The man hesitated, thrown off by the lack of resistance. Seojun held his gaze, calm and unyielding. After a moment, the tension cracked.
"…Fine." The vendor sighed.
Money changed hands. The situation deflated. But not completely. Minseo stepped in next, grabbing Taeyang by the ear and yanking him down slightly. "What is wrong with you?" Minseo questioned.
"Ow—nothing—" Taeyang winced. "You don't touch things that aren't yours." Minseo said seriously. "I didn't touch it." Taeyang replied.
"You absolutely did." She glared. "It slipped." Taeyang smiled. "You made it slip." Minseo pointed out. "That's an assumption." Taeyang shot back. "I'm about to make another assumption." She threatened as she tightened her grip.
"Okay, okay—fine, I'm sorry." Taeyang muttered.
"You're not." Minseo sighed. "I'm emotionally sorry." Taeyang smirked. "That's not a thing." She rolled her eyes.
"It is if you believe—" Taeyang joked. "Stop talking." Minseo halfheartedly glared.
Daeun slid in between them, gently prying Minseo's hand away. "Hey, hey—no public executions, please." Daeun laughed. "He deserves it." Minseo exhaled before giving Taeyang a pointed look.
"I don't. That was mild." Taeyang said, rubbing his ear. "Mild? You just started a fight over nothing." Jihoon snorted as he stared at him. "It wasn't nothing." Taeyang corrected him. "What was it, then?" Jihoon queried.
Taeyang paused. Just for a second.
His eyes flicked back to the vendor, then to Seojun, then to the space between them like he was replaying something. "…I wanted to see." He said. "See what?" Jihoon pressed.
"How it plays out." Taeyang explained. "That's not an answer." Jihoon sighed. "It is." Taeyang shrugged. "It's a bad one." Jihoon shot back. Ara spoke for the first time. "You moved before he reacted." She said.
Everyone glanced at her.
"What?" Taeyang said as he tilted his head. "The vendor. You touched the hotteok before he decided what to do. You forced the reaction." Ara continued, voice flat. "…Yeah?" Taeyang said.
"You already knew he'd get angry." Ara said. "Obviously." He snorted. "But you still did it." She pointed out.
"That's the point." Taeyang replied as his smile flickered, just slightly. "That's not a point, that's a problem." Jihoon sighed as he threw his hands up. "You can't keep doing this." Seojun exhaled slowly, pinching the bridge of his nose now.
"Doing what?" Taeyang questioned. "Pushing things." Seojun answered.
"I barely pushed anything." Taeyang told him. "You escalated a normal situation into a conflict." Seojun pointed out. "It was barely a conflict." Taeyang shrugged.
"It could have been." He exhaled. "But it wasn't." Taeyang said.
"That's not—" Seojun told him.
"Hey…it's over, okay? No one's hurt." Daeun said, stepping in again, softer this time. "You're all fine?" Minseo asked as she glanced at the vendor, then back at the group, scanning. "Yeah." Taeyang shrugged. "I'm fine." Seojun sighed.
"I'm starving, but that's unrelated." Jihoon answered. "We're leaving." She sighed. "Wait—what about snacks?" Jihoon said.
"No." Minseo replied. "That's not fair." Jihoon complained. "You lost snack privileges." Minseo responded irritably. "I didn't do anything!" He shouted. "You associated with him." Daeun snorted.
"That's—guilt by association!" Jihoon shot back. "Correct." Minseo nodded.
Taeyang snorted. They started walking again. The tension lingered, though, thin, stretched, not quite snapping back into place. "Seriously, though. Why do you always do that?" Jihoon questioned as he bumped Taeyang's shoulder.
"Do what?" Taeyang queried. "Push stuff until it almost breaks." Jihoon responded. "It didn't break." Taeyang shrugged.
"That's not the point." He sighed. "It kind of is." Taeyang smiled.
"No, it—" Jihoon stopped, frowning. "One day it's going to go wrong." He added. "Then I'll see what happens." Taeyang said, smiling at him again. "…That's exactly what I mean." Jihoon replied, rolling his eyes.
Ahead of them, Seojun slowed slightly. Something felt off.
He couldn't place it immediately; there was no obvious threat, no visible problem. The street looked the same as always. People walking, cars passing, distant chatter blending into a steady hum.
But the rhythm was wrong.
A fraction too slow.
A fraction too…aligned.
He frowned. "Do you hear that?" He asked. "Hear what?" Daeun said. "…Nothing." Seojun shook his head. "That's not helpful." Daeun laughed. "It's too quiet." Seojun expressed. "It's not quiet. There's literally a bus right—" Jihoon said.
The sound cut. Not faded.
Cut.
Mid-engine.
Mid-motion.
Everything stopped. Not frozen. Just…wrong. Taeyang's smile disappeared. For the first time. "…Oh." He said softly. Ara's head snapped up. The space ahead of them twisted. Like heat distortion, but sharper. Edges bending inward, folding over themselves.
The air felt thick, heavy, pressing against their skin. "That's not normal." Jihoon said.
"No. Stay—" Seojun replied, already stepping forward, eyes scanning. The ground shifted.
Not physically.
But something underneath it did.
Taeyang moved first. Of course he did. He stepped toward the distortion instead of away from it. "Taeyang—" Minseo called him. "I just want to—" He smiled. "Don't." Seojun cut in. Too late.
The air split.
Not like a crack.
Like something being pulled apart from both sides. White light bled through the tear, too bright, too clean. "What is that?" Daeun questioned as she grabbed Minseo's arm. "I don't—" Minseo replied. The pull hit them all at once.
Not wind.
Not force.
Something deeper. Like gravity forgot which direction it was supposed to go.
Jihoon stumbled. "What—what's happening?" He asked. "Stay together—don't—" Seojun ordered as he reached out, grabbing Daeun's wrist. The ground vanished. Not dropped. Erased. Taeyang laughed.
Not loud.
Not wild.
Just…sharp.
"Okay. That's new." Taeyang said, breathing unevenly. "This shouldn't be possible." Ara's voice cut through, steady despite everything. "Yeah. No kidding—" Jihoon choked out, grabbing onto Taeyang's jacket. The world folded.
Street.
Sky.
Sound.
All of it collapsed inward, sucked into the tearing white. "Don't let go." Minseo ordered as she tightened her grip on Daeun. "I'm not!" Daeun shouted. Seojun's mind raced, trying to map something, anything, but there was no structure, no pattern to latch onto.
This wasn't chaos. It was something else. Something controlled. Taeyang's smile came back.
Faint.
Unsteady.
"…Weird timing." He muttered. The light swallowed them whole. And even as everything disappeared, they were still arguing.