⟢ port.

@✧ na dongmin Doyoon’s eyes almost rolled back in his head, his hands swinging up in exasperation at his friend’s answer. It was most likely correct, but he did have doubts if /all/ fish could eat each other in the ocean. There was a chance the fish who were fed his extra special delicious and amazing tuna sandwiches could have been non-cannibals.

“That is not – what the hell, man! All the – my god.” He couldn’t even speak properly, his annoyance was bubbling too close to the surface and he didn’t want to let it because there’s a high chance the two of them may capsize the boat in the struggle. Knowing Dongmin’s brother Dongwoo, he would probably be delayed in alerting the port staff or the national Navy for help if two idiot boys fell into the water. Especially when both were likely skilled swimmers, that and he just liked to with them as an older brother would normally.

“The circle of life is not the issue, Mufasa, damn. Those special sandwiches that I made were not for the fish, it was for the two of us! I spent hours making them from my recipe and you just – just. Ugh.” Doyoon fell back into his seat, sinking down to almost a horizontal position, his feet nudging Dongmin’s back out of tiredness. He didn’t want to argue with his know-it-all friend, but sometimes he did wish he would understand his feelings more regardless of the eating habits of the fish they were attempting to catch. “I am upset –” Doyoon grinded his teeth briefly, taking in a sharp inhale through them so that he wouldn’t smack Dongmin’s head with his foot. “I am annoyed not because I didn’t catch any fish yet. I am annoyed that you threw away my hard work meant for the two of us without telling me about it.”

The boat had stopped shaking, now gently swaying on the water like it normally would but from the surge of emotions Doyoon felt, he could have just laid there, foot digging against Dongmin’s , and fallen into a nap. As usual, Doyoon would take the advice Dongwoo would share to him in private for handling his brother. He would need to settle just to avoid being too emotional, since Dongmin would rarely reciprocate and it would waste energy. “Keep your fish, I think we … I can just show the footage of you catching a lot of fish while I didn’t for, uh, comedy purposes. Some fishermen are more talented than others – and then we can cook them. Or put them in an aquarium, whatever you do with your catches.”

He was glad that at least the camera was also recording a portion of Dongmin (face not fully shown) of him reeling in a lot of fish and not Doyoon’s outburst against him.

@✧ cha doyoon Doyoon's initial silence after Dongmin's response had made him think that all was fine. There shouldn't be a problem feeding the sandwiches to the fish, right? They needed to eat too plus it would make for some pretty decent bait if the fishes were swarming to eat the sandwiches. Dongmin would quickly realize, however, that he was wrong for using Doyoon's specially prepared food.

He winced upon feeling the metal part of the fishing rod hit his head, unable to dodge since Doyoon was behind him but quickly turned around as his friend started to full-on start hurling smacks at him, his own fishing rod hanging dangerously over the edge of the boat.

"Fishes eat each other in the ocean too." He stated matter-of-factly as he shielded himself with his hands. "It's a perfectly normal circle of life. I thought it would also make the perfect bait since it'll make the fish swarm near us. How have you not caught any yet??"

Dongmin glanced at his bucket that was already filled with flopping fish. His plan had worked pretty decently so why was Doyoon so upset? Maybe he hadn't caught any? Dongmin wasn't sure and he sure as hell didn't have the opportunity to look at his friend's bucket yet with the attack going on.

"Are you upset because you haven't caught any fishes?" He paused. "I can give you half of what I have, I don't mind."

@✧ na dongmin [h] Doyoon’s hands were still blindly navigating the cooler as Dongmin spoke, causing Doyoon’s brows to slowly furrow in expression of confusion and then eventual shock. He just realized that Dongmin fed their food to the fishes. His special sandwiches. Doyoon took a quick glance at his camera, seeing it secured and the light turned off. At the back of his mind, some chaotic part of him was glad it wasn’t filming so it wouldn’t catch evidence of what he was about to do. Doyoon knew Dongmin’s older brother would either scold him, Dongmin himself, or both younger boys.

“You gave them tuna sandwiches… MY SPECIAL tuna sandwiches…” Doyoon spun around, not caring about catching any fish at that point and basically banged the flat end of his fishing rod against Dongmin, knowing the guy could take a hit. Doyoon was physically more fit because of his regular workouts, but Dongmin could handle it.

“What is– what is WRONG with you?! You think we can’t feed the fish kimchi, kimbap or beer because it’s unhealthy… but you willingly gave them tuna?! That’s their cousins… that’s cannibalism, you MONSTER!” As Doyoon was speaking, scandalized, he was aggressively poking Dongmin with his fishing rod, the fishing line causing chaotic ripples in the water outside the boat. “What the hell, man– you made all these unwilling fish cannibals and you gave them my special sandwich recipe meant for HUMANS!”

He didn’t want to admit it, but Doyoon was more concerned that his hard work in sandwich-building was wasted over the nearby fish families eating what could be the aquatic equivalent of 2nd cousins. Doyoon eventually dropped his fishing rod and it hung precariously on the edge of his side of the boat and he was just gently smacking Dongmin, pushing the basket of their other food (half-eaten) away with one hand. Who knows what his mad man of a friend would do to the rest of what he brought. “Those. Sandwiches. Were. Meant. For. People! US!” he spoke loudly, punctuating every word with a smack on Dongmin’s person.

In the distance, unbeknownst to the two friends in a boat, two elderly port workers were seeing a shaking boat with initial confusion. They ignored them once they realized who the distant silhouettes belonged to.

@✧ cha doyoon All things marine had always been a passion of Dongmin's. It had always been as if the ocean was his calling. It was and will always be home to him. Social interactions, on the other hand, not so much. It was rare for Dongmin to step foot outside of his museum willingly — often preferring the company of the artifacts in the museum instead. However, one of the few exceptions he made was for Doyoon, his best friend, who would more often than not get himself into things that Dongmin could never find himself understanding no matter how hard he tried.

Initially Dongmin had found himself being far too focused on his side of the boat to really pay any attention to his best friend. It was rare for him to get the chance to spend time on the water, and it was already quickly taking over his entire attention span. He couldn't wait for the fishes to chow down on the bait he'd prepared — not that he had the intention of catching them. He just wanted the lucky fishes to get some extra protein in.

What was that extra protein?

Well, his friend had been kind enough to bring along some food in a cooler. Dongmin had found it odd that Doyoon would think that kimchi, kimbap and beer would be suitable to feed the fishes. Didn't he know they can't eat those things? Bread would've been more than sufficient for the fishes but maybe he knew something that Dongmin didn't? Impossible. He knew everything there was to know about marine life.

"I didn't see any special food." His friend had managed to catch his attention with his body weight. Dongmin's voice was almost monotonous as he responded. "However, I'm very pleased that the fishes are enjoying their food. I gave them the tuna sandwiches I found." He paused. "We shouldn't be feeding fishes with kimchi, kimbap or beer. It's not healthy for them. Next time, don't bring them for the fishes, okay?"

@✧ na dongmin Fishing and cooking with seafood were two things Doyoon never really got the grasp of. Perhaps he did to an outsider who never came from a seaside town, but by Gohyang local standards he was the village idiot when it came to these things. He was a decent swimmer, only doing it when necessary or socially, but he preferred staying on solid ground. The only time he’d really get into the water on purpose was for any viral Tiktok trend that he had decided was enough for him to do for his online following. Someone needs to ask past Doyoon what possessed him into wanting to try to capture fish to eat and cook, camping-style, for online audiences. He had been sitting in this run-down old boat for almost two hours with one of his best friends, Dongmin. He convinced Dongmin to join him and he had probably only joined so that his friend could examine the fish, while Doyoon was interested in eating them.

“It’s been hours, dude. Are you sure our bait is even working?” Doyoon complained, grumbling and rolling his eyes as he nudged his elbow backwards into Dongmin’s arm. The two had always been a bit too different for strangers who didn’t understand their friendship. It made sense to the two boys, one being robotic and logical, the other being explosive and emotional. They still bonded over certain things that kept them good friends for so long, but this was ridiculous.

The boat shifted in the water slightly as Doyoon attempted to stretch his legs, they had been in the same position for hours and for some reason the fish were not taking any of their bait that he assumed Dongmin prepared just for them. Either that or his friend just made weird looking, seemingly inedible bait that would only attract fish to their boat but never have them take a bite off the hook at all. “My camera battery’s about to die, I’m gonna turn it off until I feel a tug on my fishing line, then I’ll press it.” It was like talking to a wall. Or air, in Doyoon’s case, since he and Dongmin were sitting back to back because according to the latter, they had “more coverage area for the fishing lines.”

Thankfully Doyoon had prepared a small basket of kimchi, kimbap, beer, and tuna sandwiches in a cooler. Not ideal for most tuna sandwiches, but Doyoon’s special recipe allowed them to be eaten slightly cold without the taste being ruined. He moved his arm sideways since the food cooler was beside them. His hand rummaged through the cooler blindly while his other hand gripped the fishing rod.

“Hey… where’s the sandwiches I made? Did I forget them again?” It wasn’t the first time he’d left a portion of food behind for outings, a weakness of his. That’s why his other friends and even his Dad always told him to over prepare, so that they’d at least have food coming home. “Did you eat my special food again? Hey. Dongmin.” He leaned back as a signal for his friend to turn around.

@✧ an yongbok the morning air is chilly and brisk with the sun starting to peak through the clouds. many would consider it a beautiful start to the day but ban joobin thinks otherwise. she finds it particularly offensive that everything looks nice and tranquil while she feels /absolutely/ miserable. sleep never came thanks to last night’s call with her soon-to-be-ex husband. just like their other calls, it started civil enough with passive-aggressive pleasantries but as soon as the topic of custody of their daughter came up, the facade had dropped. her voice is still sore from verbal spats she had flung at him. thank god soomin is sleeping over at a friend’s so she didn’t have to witness her mother at her worst.

so here she is walking down the port in hopes that it would calm down her nerves. it doesn’t… all she feels is regret as the powerful gust of wind leaves her shivering cold. “this was a mistake,” she grumbles, shoving her hands deeper into the pockets of her lavender puffer jacket.

to make matters worse, she can’t even be miserable alone. there are people sprinkled here and there throughout the port. some are unloading cargo from ships while others are perched near the edge with fishing rods and buckets of chum near their side. as cliché as it sounds, she’s the fish out of water here.

as she makes her way down, she takes note of a fisherman in her direction. noticeably younger than the ahjussis hoping to get the morning catch. ‘never saw a fisherman that handsome in busan,’ she muses just as she passes by him. the wind whips by, blowing strands of hair across her face. annoyed, she tries to brush them away when a sharp, piercing pain goes through her hand. she doesn’t even have time to react before she feels herself getting pulled, causing her to collide and fall on top of the guy she was observing.

a loud snap disturbs the once-quiet atmosphere. “ouch! what the hell?” she growls in pain, glaring daggers at him as she tries to gather her bearings.