don't ask questions (you don't wanna know)

by imcompletelycalm

Summary:

“Hyung, I’ve always wondered,” Cha Eugene began innocently, “Why do you dislike Cheongryeo-sunbaenim?”

It should be known that Park Moondae is very, very sleep-deprived, and slightly tipsy. Therefore, he should not be held accountable for anything he says or does.

Park Moondae prepares to evade the question by playing dumb, and he’s half-way there when his dumb mouth decides to say something completely different. What comes out of his mouth is this: “Who the hell would get along with their ex-boyfriend?”

Or,

When a joking line of questioning gets a serious, if drunken, answer, TeSTAR learns why Park Moondae and Shin Cheongryeo are Like That.

Notes:

tbh i just thought it would be funny if their divorced, shared custody of the dog energy was actually because they were divorced/exes, and so this was born. also i wrote this in twelve minutes and impulse posted it so it's very bad quality lmao

Chapter 1

It’s become a tradition at this point for TeSTAR to have a celebratory cheat dinner at the end of every tour. They order fried chicken and some beer, and allow themselves to act their age. Bae Sejin relents and allows Park Moondae to have a low-alcohol beer once he promises to only drink one, and it’s not long before the apartment is full with chatter and laughter. 

Park Moondae sits on the couch, while Cha Eugene talks to him and Kim Raebin. The Sejins are having a drinking contest, though it's unclear who is winning. Seon Ahyeon is blinking very slowly from where he sits cross-legged on the floor, and Ryu Cheongwoo is sprawled out next to him. 

Moondae thinks he could stay in this moment forever. He shifts so that his head is on a pillow and yawns. 

“Hey,” That is, until Cha Eugene pokes his shoulder and very rudely keeps him from falling asleep. “Hyung. Hyung. Don’t fall asleep yet , I have something I want to ask you!!”

Moondae sighs. “What.”

“Hyung, I’ve always wondered,” Cha Eugene began innocently, “Why do you dislike Cheongryeo-sunbaenim?”

It should be known that Moondae is very, very sleep-deprived, and slightly tipsy. Therefore, he should not be held accountable for anything he says or does. 

Moondae prepares to evade the question by playing dumb, and he’s half-way there when his dumb mouth decides to say something completely different. What comes out of his mouth is this: “Who the hell would get along with their ex-boyfriend?”

It’s only when the room becomes deathly silent that he realizes what, exactly, he’s just said. Every person has stopped what they’re doing to stare at him, mouths agape. Shit. Suddenly, he feels very, very awake and very, very sober. 

"HUH?!" Cha Eugene breaks the silence first.

"That explains a lot, actually," Kim Raebin mutters. "Wait. Hear me out. The-"

No one hears him out.

"THAT GUY?!" Bae Sejin shouts incredulously. Everyone winces at the volume, including Bae Sejin himself. Unable to help himself, he whisper-shouts, "Why that bastard?!"

"What's going on?" Ryu Chungwoo asks blearily. Apparently, he's only just returned to the world of the living. 

"I s-support you!" Seon Ahyeon adds sincerely. Moondae appreciates the sentiment, but he would also prefer to be about literally anywhere else right now. 

Moondae fakes a yawn and rushes to his feet, nearly tripping over a rambling Raebin in the process. Time to escape. “It’s late. I’m going to bed–”

"Nope!" Lee Sejin, who has somehow teleported across the room, says with faux cheer before picking him up and placing him right back onto the couch. The other members nod very seriously in approval and agreement. "You're not getting out of this one."

Moondae decides he is never going to open his mouth ever again. 

Chapter 2

Summary:

TeSTAR asks more questions, and gets more answers that create more questions that never get answers.

Notes:

this part was born out of my belief that moondae is the friend that drops huge lore bombshells and then never properly elaborates
also thank you so much for the lovely comments! sorry if i didnt reply, my inbox is being wacky, but just know that i read them and appreciate them <3

“So,” Kim Raebin tentatively breaks the silence, raising his hand like he’s in a classroom, “Did you ever learn about their music composing process?”

“Uh,” Moondae doesn’t know why he’s surprised. He uses the same excuse as before. “It’s classified.”

Cha Eugene slaps the disappointed Kim Raebin on the shoulder. “That wasn’t a good question! You should ask why they broke up! Hey, hyung, why did—”

“No, that much is obvious,” Bae Sejin interrupts brazenly, and the younger Sejin nods in rare agreement. “Shin Cheongryeo is a scumbag. You should really ask, WHY THAT BASTARD OF ALL PEOPLE?!!!”

That was something he often wondered himself. Why did he ever put up with that guy? But Moondae couldn’t actually articulate any of this, so he just shrugged half-heartedly and says the first thing that comes to mind. 

“He’s handsome.” 

“....” 

The other members fall silent. No one could disagree with that, but they can’t help but feel wronged. Wasn’t Moondae constantly surrounded by handsome men? Couldn’t he have at least picked someone within their group, instead of that crazy sunbae? Wasn’t Seon Ahyeon leagues more handsome than Cheongryeo? 

“And, you know,” Moondae waves a hand around, grasping for straws, “He has a cute dog.”

“We should have known,” Ryu Chungwoo teases. He seems a little more lucid now, at least. Out of the corner of his eye, he sees Seon Ahyeon cracking a small smile. Everyone immediately relaxes. 

“Yeah,” Cha Eugene nods so fast that Moondae gets a little dizzy just watching him. “I can see Moondae-hyung getting tricked by a cute dog.” 

Kim Raebin mutters, “He really is a Moon puppy…”

For some reason, this statement erases any and all confusion surrounding how Moondae, of all people, dated Cheongryeo. He feels like he should be offended, but he can’t deny that Kong-ie did play a major role in their relationship. Hell, without that dog, Moondae doubts he would have ever lowered his guard. 

“Hold on,” Lee Sejin’s brows crease into a familiar frown. He must be more shaken than he looks, because the next thing he says is so woefully lacking any sort of his characteristic tact. “Were you guys still dating when he kidnapped you?”

“WHAT?!” The other members cry out in alarm, quickly removed from their canine musings. They are summarily ignored by the two Sejins. 

“Could it be...” Bae Sejin’s eyes go wide, like a hamster having an existential crisis. He places his palms on his face in a manner nearly identical to Edward Munch’s “The Scream”, mouth agape and all. “Could it be that he locked you up as revenge for dumping him?!”

What the hell has this guy been reading?

"No!" It’s not like he can explain that VTIC’s leader tried to convince him to kill himself so that he could reset, or that he could explain the System or his own identity of Ryu Gunwoo. So, Moondae does not elaborate. Instead, he stands up and claps his hands twice. "No more questions. If you ask me about this again, I will throw up on you. Good night."

Satisfied with this conclusion, he goes straight to bed and passes out, leaving the rest of the members shell shocked in the living room. 

"..."

The rest of the members turn and look at each other, then at the direction Moondae left, then back at each other again. 

It's Ryu Chungwoo, in true leader form, who breaks the stunned silence. "Let's give him some space. He'll let us know if or when he's ready to talk about this again."

Everyone nods and murmurs in agreement. None of them want to make their friend uncomfortable. 

"Yes, l-let's not pressure him," Seon Ahyeon says. This is the most his friend has willingly revealed about his personal life in ages. If they kept pressuring him to reveal more, he doubted Moondae would ever talk about himself again. All the walls they'd painstakingly broken down would be brought back up without so much as a warning. Still, there was one thing that was bothering Seon Ahyeon, and that must have been bothering the others. "But, Sejin-ah, what did you mean by kidnapped?"

The Sejins both turn pale. Bae Sejin searches for an escape route, and Lee Sejin chuckles nervously, "I wasn't supposed to say that."

It was a good thing that they had nothing planned the next day, because the interrogation  was far from over. 

Notes:

lmk if you find any continuity, spelling or grammar errors!
thanks for reading <3

Notes:

thanks for reading!

Series this work belongs to:

• Part 1 of debut or die