The lack of communication from Kyu-Sik over the last few days wasn't entirely unnoticed, but not a source of worry for Donovan. He had much more going on, didn't want to spread his capacity for worrying too thin. His apartment had been all but emptied out in the wake of his roommate's departure, bringing into stark relief how little was actually his own in the first place. The entire acoustics of the apartment had changed, the living room echoing oddly and unfamiliarly that Donovan tried to suppress any sound as he walked through it. Even if he could find some way to afford staying on his own, he wouldn't want to bear the imprints of long-gone furniture left in the carpet.
What few pieces of furniture that remained, he sold to strangers who bartered him down to painfully cheap prices. He didn't have the motivation to seek out more potential buyers that could spare him a few bucks more. Saving money eating cheap noodles, the cash was enough combined with his recent paycheck to cover a deposit and a couple month's rent on a new place if he could find one, considerably smaller and in far less nice parts of town. And he was okay with that, not too particular about his standard of living as long as he had a bed to call his own. Donovan wasn't much of an optimist, but he preferred to think of this stripping down as a reminder of what was important. He'd survived much worse and with much less.
He was curled up on his mattress now left without a frame and trying to sleep to keep his mind from wandering into any dark corners he'd been backing himself into lately, when he received the call. Anybody else he would have ignored it.
If he looked like he dressed in the dark, it was because he had, very little care about his appearance in a rush to be ready and not wanting to keep Kyu-Sik waiting. Whatever he had in mind, whatever emergencies he imagined, it wasn't the beach. But the sense of urgency seemed to fade when there didn't seem to be any immediate problem.
He'd left his shoes by the car, enjoying the feel of cool grains of sand between his toes. It was almost enough to forget that there must have been a purpose to why Kyu-Sik wanted to see him. The conversation seemed to avoid it for as long as possible. He knew it couldn't be as simple as a desire for company, though he couldn't help but think that there was a touch of romanticism about the starry sky and the expanse of dark water. Maybe tonight he could express what he'd been feeling, although whenever his mind tried to string together the words, his mouth refused to say them.
"You made a promise to me," Donovan reminded instead, studying him with a thoughtful smile. "What kind of friend would I be if I didn't return it?" It didn't really matter the reason, he decided, glad to prove his willingness to be there. "I figured you've been busy." He understood the need for space and didn't read into the silence as anything more than that, wasn't clingy enough to expect daily contact from somebody who was just a friend.