O6-O8–26

Barely functioning, but always making time. Kyeji slept at 6:00 AM and woke up at nearly 9:00 AM. With barely three hours of rest, he thanked every saint he could think of that he was still functioning. He wasn’t well, and he certainly wasn’t at his best, but he was functioning enough to survive the day. His classes, however, were a different story.

He spent the entire lecture fighting the urge to close his eyes, a feat that was only possible because he was sitting directly in front of his professor. Sleeping in class? Not today, unless he wanted a confrontation he didn’t have the energy for.

Once the bells rang and the mundane day finally ended, Kyeji headed home. His dads greeted him with a text message inviting him to join them for a picnic date. At first, his social battery was so low he reflexively rejected them, wanting nothing more than to crawl into bed. But as usual, he eventually found himself at the park, sitting on a blanket and letting the fresh air do what his coffee couldn’t.

When they finally returned home, Kyeji didn’t go to sleep. Instead, he went straight to his laptop to set up. He had an important appointment: a movie date with Yelo.

They started watching Gakuen Babysitters, the soft animation and cute plot lines a perfect match for the quiet night. Kyeji watched with a small smile, occasionally thinking of Loopy as the episodes rolled by. However, right before the final episode, the screen grew quiet on the other end. Yelo had fallen asleep.

Kyeji didn’t mind at all. If anything, his gaze softened as he looked at the screen, a quiet, protective warmth settling in his chest. He didn’t end the call immediately. Instead, he turned down his brightness, the soft glow of the laptop illuminating his tired face.

“Goodnight,” he whispered, even though he knew there would be no reply.

He stayed on the call for a while longer and played a song on YouTube while doing his own thing. But later, Yelo wakes up, decides to end the call, and finally goes to sleep. While Kyeji stays late again, he eventually closes his own tabs, the silence of the room finally wrapping around him. He was exhausted, his body was aching, but his heart felt full.

Rest could finally wait until tomorrow.