welcome home, yoonbum [k.s. au]

chapter seven

Yoon Bum had done it. His plate was clear of any sign that food covered it. He felt an uncomfortable feeling in his gut; it protruded out and made his clothing tight. But it made Sangwoo content and proud. He patted his son on the back.

"There. Now your clothes will fit better." Bum attempted to give him a smile, but his thoughts were too busy worrying about the pain in his stomach. "Now, let's clean up." Sangwoo gathered some dishes and headed over to the sink. Jieun hopped out of her chair with her plate and followed. Bum did not move from his spot. He felt the swelling grow throughout his body, his head feeling as exhausted from stressing as his jaw was from chewing. He rocked slowly in his chair and tried to lift his plate, but then he felt it. He held his mouth, with his cheeks puffed, his body managed to move quickly to the bathroom.

"Bum?" He made it just in time. Most of his dinner exited between his teeth and into the toilet bowl. Bum felt the stiffness in his gut loosen as he finished gagging. He looked up to see Sangwoo leaning against the doorframe. He could feel the disappointment resonate off his father's body. He wiped his bottom lip and tried to collect himself. The tense feeling came back.

"Was it that bad?" Sangwoo's voice pierced the air, his spit escaping along with it and landing on Bum. He flinched from the gesture, but didn't move much more after that. He was terrified. He didn't know what to say other than, "No." Sangwoo sighed, tossed a towel toward Bum who frantically tried to save it before it could hit the ground.

"Clean up. Then go to bed." And with that, he walked back to the kitchen to finish the dishes. Bum sat there by the bowl, shocked at what he just witnessed. How could he do this to his father? Will he ever be enough for his father's approval? As he wiped his face with the towel, Bum could feel his cheeks burning from the feeling of embarrassment. His eyes stung, begged to release tears, but Bum wouldn't allow it. He shouldn't be so weak. One, two, three... Bum began to count in his head and slow his breathing so that he could present himself as okay. Four, five, six... He looked in the mirror; he looked as miserable as he felt. He shook his hands. Seven, eight, nine... "You're okay."

**********

The next day was their first day of school. Bum looked in the mirror at his outfit. Just as Sangwoo mentioned the other day, his shirt bagged slightly around his thin figure. He frowned, somethings will never change.

"Bum! Jieun! The bus is here!" Sangwoo's booming voice echoed up the stairs causing Bum to jolt.

"C-coming!" He snatched his bag and hurried down the steps. Jieun was sitting by the door with Sangwoo messing with her shoelaces.

"Why do they make kids' laces so short?" He fussed under his breath. Laces. Kids' shoes. Bum froze as he remembered the dirtied shoes in his closet. He had forgotten about them and was too busy worrying about disappointing his father. Sangwoo finished the knot and glanced over at Bum. They both stared at each other for what felt like minutes to Bum, but was only a few seconds.

"Are you coming?" Sangwoo's irritated voice shook Bum out of his trance. He had to go back and check, he must know if what he saw was real or a dream.

"I-I-I forgot something!" He turned and rushed back upstairs and bolted to the closet. He swung them open with such a force that it hit the wall. He fell to his knees and searched the floor. He got up and looked above his hangers. Nothing. Not a single box full of children's shoes. Clean nor dirty. His breath slowed. Maybe it was a dream after all... but the horrific feeling when he saw them felt so real.

"Come on, Bum, they're going to leave you!" Bum snapped back and rushed downstairs and out the door. The dreaded feeling over the shoes was replaced by the feeling of embarrassment from failing his father's demands. Get it together, Bum, he ordered himself, I'm sure it's fine. But the thought of the shoes in his closet still lingered in his mind. How could he forget? Whose shoes were they? As he sat in an empty seat in the front, he stared out the window at Sangwoo waving them away. His smile just a little more menacing than he remembered.

******

They arrived at the school and all Bum could think of were the shoes. He couldn't meet the faces of other kids, instead he stared at their shoes. Most were brand new or clean, others were dirty, but no blood appeared on the outside like the ones in his closet.

"Yoon Bum?" He jolted from his name and stood. The class giggled at his frantic nature.

"Y-yes?" The teacher eyed his behavior and motioned him to sit down. It was only roll call.

"Everyone settle down. Bum here is our new classmate. Please make him feel welcomed here." She then looked only at him, "Let me know if you have any questions." She smiled and continued with the class. Get it together, Bum, he told himself, Try to act normal for once.

Throughout the day, Bum kept a low profile. Luckily for him, everyone had already been at this school for several weeks and had already joined their individual cliques. Except for one boy who bumped into Bum in the hallway. Bum's new supplies he gathered fell to the floor. A couple of kids walked by with only snickers except for the culprit.

"Oh, sorry! Are you okay?" A boy with orange hair began picking up Bum's stuff. Bum flinched at his kindness but then accepted the fact that this is a new school after all, he could make a friend with this random kid.

"Y-yeah. Thanks. I'm—"

"Bum, right? I know, you were in my first class. I'm Min-jun—it means quick and gentle—but you can just call me Min. You're new, right? I've been in this district my whole life and I've never seen you around here." Bum felt overwhelmed by Min's introduction, but tried to keep up with all this new information.

"I-uh-yes, I'm new here. Thanks again for helping me."

"No problem!" Min slapped Bum on the back a little too hard and caused him to lurch forward, dropping his supplies again.

"Heh... whoops. Let me get that." Gentle, huh? Bum joked in his head. He smiled a little to himself at the thought of having a friend. Min appeared chaotic, but friendly and that's all Bum needed. Min returned the items into Bum's arms.

"Sorry again. I didn't realize how weak you were going to be." He laughed at his own inference. Bum laughed nervously, was that supposed to be a harmless joke or an actual insult? Before he could ask, the bell chimed for the next class to start.

"Oh! Gotta go! See you around, new kid!" Min rushed off down the opposite way. Bum smiled to himself. Maybe being adopted by a strange father wasn't so bad after all.