DEAF | JAEYONG ✔

THE PAST REMAINS THE PAST

[ Jaehyun POV ]

Taeyong and I were back home after Doyoung's movie night. Neither of us were sleepy since we already slept through half of the movie. So we just lay together on the bed on comfortable silence, warm in each other's arms.

" Jaehyun-ah? ", he calls, removing himself from me, looking into my eyes.

' Yes baby? '

" I-I need to tell you something ", he says nervously.

' What is it Tae? ', I ask him for which he scoots closer to me.

" I want to tell you about my past and how I ended up here ", he replies with sad eyes.

' Are you sure baby? You don't have to tell me if you're not ready ', I say for which he gives me a small smile." I'm ready Jaehyun. It's about time I tell you "

' Ok Tae, go ahead '

" It all started the day I lost my hearing. My life before that day was the definition of perfect. My parents treated me like a prince, we were financially stable, we had a huge house too. You know, I even had a twin brother, Lee Taemin "

' You did? '

" Yeah. We lived the perfect life. Until the day I lost my hearing. That's when my whole life turned upside down ", he says as his smile completely vanishes from his face. " My mom used to cry throughout the day because of me, but once she was over it, she used to sit and learn sign language with me, which made me happier. My twin brother also leant it just to be able to communicate with me. My dad, on the other hand, left without any notice. He came back after a few weeks and I realized that he had become a CEO of a big company here in Seoul. So one day, my dad picked me up from school and handed me a letter in the car. He wrote that it was huge disgrace if the son of a CEO was deaf, so instead of taking me home, he dropped me off at an orphanage with a packed suitcase of all my belongings and clothes "

' Your dad did that? Baby, I'm so sorry you went through that ', I say and hold his hands.

" I don't know why my dad did that but I guess business changes people " he says with his head hung low.

' What happened next? '

" In the orphanage, I didn't fit in. I cried and cried all day thinking of my mom and my brother. Until I met Taeil, he was an orphan too. He had run away from his home because he was a victim of sexual assault and abuse. We became the closest of friends. We communicated via paper and he even helped me learn the basics of lip reading. This all changed when one day, Taeil got adopted. I tried to be happy for him but I couldn't help the feeling of loneliness. He promised to visit me every week but his new parents didn't allow it since they lived far away "

' You poor thing, I'm glad Taeil was there with you for a while ', I say and kiss the back of his hand. ' Go ahead, baby '.

" What would you do if you wanted to avoid things? ", he asks.

' You hide '

" Exactly. So after Taeil left, I shut myself in my room and even stopped eating. I would only come out to read the newspaper since that was my only contact to the world. One day, when I was around 16, I found an article about my father. It said that his son had committed suicide because he couldn't bear the fact that he was deaf. I then realized the article was about me, and that my dad made up the whole thing to cover up his doing. He didn't want anyone to know that he put me in an orphanage. I was so mad when I read it. A few days later, I got a letter for him saying that he would do anything I wanted but I shouldn't tell anyone about what he did "

' Did you agree to it? '

" I did. I told him that he had to pay my tuition fee for college and he gladly agreed. But I wasn't gonna let him go that easy. I went to his office the next day but he wasn't there. I asked his secretary for a money transfer as my twin brother. She fell for it and gave me hundred thousand dollars just like that. So I got this apartment with that money. Obviously my dad found out about it and got really mad but I had a good laugh out of it. He paid me a good amount of money every month and that's what's keeping me financially stable. When I joined college, the impossible happened. I saw Taeil hyung again. We had our happy little reunion and we've become inseparable since, as you've seen. Now here we are, after thirty seven suicide attempts. I still remain the same "

' I'm really sorry you had to go through all that baby. I'm glad that you have me to take care of you now. To love and support you. To be your first and hopefully last love because I'm not planning to let go of you any sooner '

He smiles " Will you be there for me always? ", he says.

' Always love '.

" Promise? ".

' Promise ', I say and pull him into a gentle hug.

" I love you Jaehyun ", he says and falls asleep on my chest. I place his head on the pillow and run my hand through his locks.

" I love you too Tae ".