blind

<<one>>

"the cardiovascular system, known as circulatory system consists heart. heart is pumping blood to the whole body"

the teacher explains while guiding minho's fingers to touch the dots across the book.

"wait, which one is heart?"

"this one, my dear" she carefully drags his fingers to the certain dots.

the younger runs his fingers on the dots again and again. it is a silent moment until he calls his father, "dad?"

"yes?" his father, who sit in front of him, replies.

"can we... call it a day?"

his father and the teacher quickly stands up.

"sure. thank you for coming, mrs han" the elder bows.

she smiles, "anytime. oh! if you don't mind, i can bring my son tomorrow so minho won't be feeling lonely"

"that would be great! what do you think, sweetheart?"

minho let out a sigh. he stands up, the maid that standing behind him instantly holding him. they both walk away without saying a word to his father.

mr lee stares at his son for a solid minute before turns his gaze to the teacher with an apologetic smile, "i'm really sorry. minho just won't open up to new people, you know"

"of course i know. i've been there before" she giggles with her hand on her mouth.

"y-you can bring your son tomorrow. i'm sure if he knows how to bring a topic, minho sure will open up for him"

"oh! you don't have to worry about that. he is chatterbox. he talks too much sometimes i want to dump him on the spot" they both are laughing after what mrs han has just said.

"i will see you tomorrow, mrs han"

"as usual. tell minho to get some rest, he did a great job today. he's such a good kid"

"will do. drive her safely" mr lee demands to his trustworthy driver.

"yes master" he bows before open the backseat for the teacher and drives out of the yard.

mr. lee sigh before he makes his way to his precious's room. he knocks the door, hearing a muffle 'come in' before he pushes the door open.

there he is, sitting on his desk, reading an english book consists novel. the father slowly walking away towards him, sitting on his bed beside the desk, facing minho.

"the teacher said you did well today"

"as always. she always said that, like i'm perfect in her eyes" minho states it dryly.

his fingers stops at the middle of the paragraph. he has test of telling story for his english teacher tomorrow classes so he tries his best to not forget the storyline.

"because you are, minho"

"i've learned all the body parts, dad. including the organs inside our body, like how sperms are made, how long is the intestine in our body that i keep wondering how does it fits so well. but why... why i never learn any topic about eyes?"

"sweetheart..."

"did you tell her not to bring any topics about eyes? if so, why did you do that? you know i'm in science major, one of them is biology. i have to know everything what's gonna happen in our body. eyes are one of the organs. i have to know about it. if i don't, then how am i supposed to know how does it work? i can't skip that part just because i'm blind"

he turns his body to his bed, knowing his father is silently listening to him right now, "i'm not mad because i lost my eyesight. i am mad if you treat me like this, of course i will be offended."

"i didn't mean to offend you"

"i know... you're just afraid i'm gonna throw a tantrum. but i am fine, dad. i swear."

his father stands up, gently pulling him into a hug. minho wraps his arms around the elder.

"no matter what happened, you're always be my son, minho. i love you"

"i love you too, dad. i wish mom was here..."

"me too, son. me too" he kisses minho's head gently, pulling himself before a tear drops on the younger's head.

they pulls from each other. his father is walking to the door and before he closes it behind him, he speaks, "get some rest, boy. you deserve it"

"let me finish it then i will"

"okay. dinner will be ready before you know it"

"of course dad"

he chuckles as he hears the door clicked behind him. his smile flutters as his fingers are still lingering on the braille book. he brings his hand to touch the fabric that covers his eyes.

it is kind of irritating to have something around your head but what can he do? his father tells him millions times to not take it off.

it has been years minho has wearing a blindfold, you can say it has been his entire life. he still remembers the day when he officially wore the blindfold. the cries of his father, the apologies are lingering inside his head. he never mention about it again to his elder, knowing he will not talk about it ever again.

he knows his father is living with full of regret. no matter how he tries to cover the sadness on the outside, minho knows that he is not okay on the inside.

minho actually can see when he was four. but after an accident happened, including his mother took her last breath inside the crashed car, leading minho to where he is now.

his father said the pieces of shattered mirror got into his eyes. he was devastated to know that he lost his eyesight at young age but he couldn't change anything right now. he pushes everything and moving on for his one and only father.

what has past is past but minho knows, he knows so well the past is eating him alive until now.