IT GOT BETTER [ shin hyeok woo / so mun ]

It got better

Shin Hyeok Woo apologized to everyone that he ever hurt. Everyone who gave him the chance to do it, anyway.

He dropped out of his high school. He left his house. He still stayed in the city, even though he was definitely questioning it sometimes.

Hyeok Woo got a job at a convenience store not too far from the school. It didn't pay much, but it was enough for now. He had to lay low. His father was in jail. His so-called friends turned their backs on him the second he got weak. His reputation was gone.

He was a shadow of the boy he was before.

Somehow, it wasn't that bad.

Yes, he was poor and that was something he never imagined before, but he was free from his father. The presence of the man used to send shivers down his spine. The years of abuse left marks. The physical one faded. The ones on his mind... He almost laughed the one time his co-worker mentioned that he should've gone to therapy after living with that monster. Because wasn't that ridiculous? Without the man who hurt him, he couldn't even think about being able to afford getting professional help. He had to depend on himself.

At least now he knew that the way people interacted with him was genuine. No one was faking respect and adoration. He didn't have to fake it too. His co-workers were nice because he was okay at his job and he tried to be kind to them. It was new too. Being nice to people. He got a good lesson on how being an asshole will finally bring you down. So he was good. He said his "sorry"s and his "thank you"s. He helped with reaching the things on the highest shelf and with finding the right brand of candy. And customers were... customers. Some mean, some nice. Many knew him from high school, but they didn't bring it up.

Sometimes his old friends would visit the shop. They would barge in, making noise and mess, and demand to be treated well. On more than one occasion they grabbed him by his shirt and threatened to beat him up again under the pretext of him not serving them fast enough. He thought it was karma. He deserved every punch, every kick that he got. He deserved the pain, and the tears, and the fear. But the last time it happened...

So Mun showed up.

"I thought I told you to leave him alone."

Hyeok Woo had some mixed feelings about this boy. On one hand, he still felt angry that he was challenged and humiliated by him. The old him wanted to hate him, tell him to fuck off and leave him alone. On the other hand, he saved him. More than once. He fought off the bullies, he gave him food and shelter. He forgave him. So Hyeok Woo should be grateful, he should be Mun's number one fan, but he couldn't. Under all of this was this hidden part. The part that saw the handsome, sweet boy with his friends and loving grandparents, and healed leg and strong body. The part that admired him, and envied him, and... Something else.

"Are you okay?" Mun's voice changed from sharp to gentle, when he was speaking to Hyeok Woo, after the bullies ran away.

"Yeah..."

"How is it?"

"What?" he asked too harshly. He kept reacting like that, like a wounded animal refusing to be helped. Mun didn't seem phased.

"The work, how is it?"

Hyeok Woo weighted his options. The couple of times Mun tried to talk him before, he refused to give him more than short, dry answers. He didn't want to get friendly.

Being alone wasn't that bad after everyone left him.

His friends, his father and everyone who was under mayor's control. No one stayed with Hyeok Woo, who was completely lost with holes in his memory and the vision of his father with demonic eyes. No one remained, but one annoying boy showed up and he kept showing up, even after the red head told him to go.