𝖿𝖺𝗋 𝖺𝗐𝖺𝗒 - 𝖼.𝗒

♥︎♡ ! >﹏< 𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗣𝗧𝗘𝗥 𝟯𝟳 !

while on my search to find yeonjun, i notice another boy with jet black hair and similar facial features who's stood alone at his locker. his back is turned away from everyone, as if he's putting something in his locker, except he's not. he's just staring inside it blankly. usually he's surrounded by his massive group of friends but he's completely alone.

i step over to him. "juwon?" i say quietly, and he turns his head towards me, with a dazed sort of look in his eyes like he's not quite in this dimension. they're sort of glazed over like he's not quite...him. i realise that over the weekend, i barely spoke to him. i've been with yeonjun, trying to comfort him after everything that happened to him, but i never thought to check on juwon. he's just lost his father. one day, his dad is around the house like normal, then the next, he's in prison. that's a lot to comprehend for a fourteen year old kid.

i step closer to him, looking at his distant face before i hug him. he doesn't say anything, but within seconds he's hugging me back. he clearly needed it. clearly his goofy bunch of friends aren't too good at the emotional heart to hearts. i hold on to him, nuzzling the side of my face against his shoulder. it's embarrassing that he's fourteen and taller than me. he doesn't let go of me, and i can feel his heart through his clothes, like he's under pressure. it's like he's trying not to cry.

i pull back from him slightly, scanning over his face. "are you okay?" i ask him quietly.

he nods like it's automatic, but he's not making eye contact.

"juwon, i know this really feels like it sucks right now." i say to him. "and it's weird, like it all happened too quickly." i say. "but you'll realise that it's for the best." i tell him.

he nods. "no, i know." he says. "i know it's for the best. it had to happen eventually." he says. "it's just weird."

i pause for a second. had to happen eventually? "what do you mean?" i ask hesitantly.

he look at me cautiously before speaking. "that wasn't the first time he's beaten yeonjun." he says quietly. "i wanted to call social services but mom begged me not to. she wanted to talk to try and fix it, because she just wanted us all to be a happy family without social services tearing us apart." he says.

i frown slightly. "he's beaten him before?" i ask. "when did that happen?"

"years ago." he says. "yeonjun was never really the same after that." he says.

"did the school not find out? was he not bruised?" i ask.

"yeah, but he just told them he was mugged." he says. "dad made him lie."

what a sick man.

"but since then, yeonjun is always turning up to school with bruises - not from dad - but random people he keeps getting into fights with."

i frown as juwon explains it. so ever since his dad first beat him, he changed. i'm guessing he was angry, felt like the world against him so was argumentative and short tempered. that's probably why he kept getting into fights. it's making more sense now. he felt worthless and like he didn't deserve anything good. maybe that's why he got so hung up over elena - who would cheat and be so toxic yet accept it, because he didn't think he deserved any better. this poor guy.

"but then when he kept coming home with bruises, dad was getting angry." juwon says. "he'd say things like you need to stop playing around' and stuff, but i think we all knew he was just scared that people would think he did it. he was paranoid."

my mind goes back to when sehun was arguing with yeonjun about the black eye beomgyu gave him in his office. it makes complete sense. thinking back to that day when we went on top of the rock, i remember yeonjun was looking at the art, and sehun marched over and started shouting at him. it makes sense. he didn't want yeonjun getting caught up with art, he wanted him to move on and find new 'real' interests. everything is fitting into place.