|Weak Hero| D-TecnoLife

Chapter 8

Ben was once again staying to watch over Gray while Donald went out. Donald was still pissed at the people who had dared to harm his best friend. The rage pretty much emanated off of Donald like a raging inferno enveloping him.

He may have beaten them already once before when he initially rescued Kingsley, but his anger had yet to completely subside. He was quick to locate them and although most of them fled in terror upon recognizing the Yeongdeungpo Union's leader that they had provoked, the ones that Donald did manage to catch were brutally beaten.

Donald wasn't the type to show mercy on people nor was he the type to go easy on them. He didn't want to leave the fight unfinished like before. These people would get hopeful once their wounds had completely healed and would go after Kingsley again. To prevent a repeat of events, Donald had to make sure they wouldn't be able to walk again.

Most street fights between high schoolers were fought with just bare fists, and sometimes wooden beams. But Donald had brought a metal crowbar with him to help him accomplish his goal.

These motherfuckers would know true pain, suffering, and fear.

They will forever have "Never mess with Donald Na" engrained into their souls.

XXX

"Donald...do you want to know about my past with Stephen?" Gray asked during dinner.

"I am curious, but I'm not entitled to know," Donald answered. "Only tell me if you want to,"

"When I told Ben about my past, I felt relieved," Gray recalled. "You're my brother so...maybe if I tell you too, I'll be even more relieved,"

"Are you sure?" Donald questioned. "You've only known me for two months and I am your friends' enemy,"

Gray began telling his tale, taking as many pauses and breaks that he needed. Donald sat there and patiently listened, letting Gray take his time. Once Gray was done, Donald felt even more sympathy towards his little brother.

'People with connections to those with money and power always are able to get away with everything,' Donald thought bitterly, recalling how his fellow classmates in elementary school had bullied him, even in plain sight of a school staff, but they were left unpunished or the teachers placed the blame on Donald.

Donald hated people like Oswald Yang. He hated people who flaunted their family's power and wealth. Those people had never had a single hardship in their life, letting daddy and mommy dearest buy all the solutions to their problems. The only reason he had tolerated Phillip Kim was because he had been useful, but in reality Donald saw him as nothing more than a piece of trash.

Donald may sometimes mention his power as the King of Yeongdeungpo, but he had earned that right. He had started from nothing and built everything up. He had fought numerous battles to prove his strength and strategically made deal with businesses to increase his public image and income.

XXX

Gray couldn't bring himself to immediately meet up with Stephen again in person, but he did managed to bring himself to send texts. After two weeks, he felt that he was mostly ready to see Stephen again, although he'd be lying if he said there wasn't a part of him that wanted to run away, hide, and avoid Stephen.

Their meeting was formatted the same way Gray's meeting with his mother had been. They sat on opposite sides of a table in the backyard with Donald staying next to Gray's side. 

"Hi Gray," Stephen greeted with a warm smile.

"Hi Stephen," Gray's voice came out quieter than he had wanted it to be. "How...How have you been?"

"I'm doing well," Stephen claimed. "How about you?"

Gray tensed up. "I'm fine,"

'That smile is pained,' Stephen noted. 'It's the same smile I gave him when I didn't want him to worry or get involved,' "I've missed you a lot,"

"I-I missed you too. What-What have you been up to?"

"Turns out that not every comatose patient is up and about immediately like in A Soundless Voice," Stephen said. "I woke up but I had to go through a lot of therapy. I managed to regain the strength in my upper body, but I'm still working on regaining my ability to walk again," Stephen noticed the guilty look on Gray's face. "Gray, have you been blaming yourself all this time?"

"Part of me does blame myself..." Gray whispered. "I know it isn't my fault and that...that it's Bryce and Oswald who bullied you a-and..." He clenched his eyes shut, remembering Stephen's injuries while comatose. "You purposely took all the attention so I wouldn't get hurt...I wasn't able to do anything for you,"

"Gray, if you had gotten hurt, it would've broken me," Stephen told him. "And I'm sure Bryce had it out for me for a while. I wasn't oblivious to the class talking behind my back, I just chose to ignore them. I'm a bit surprised no one targeted me before Bryce and Oswald," He slowly placed a hand on Gray's shoulder and smiled. "And Gray, you don't have to do anything for me. Just being my friend is enough,"

Gray didn't want to cry, not in front of Stephen. He wanted to show Stephen that he didn't need any protection, that he was doing okay even if he wasn't.

But Gray Yeon no longer had the mask he wore at the start of the school year. 

XXX

Once Gray had finished crying and was more composed, Stephen decided to try striking up a conversation again. "What school do you go to? I'll enroll in it and we can attend together in three months,"

Gray froze. 'That's right...in three months, the new school year starts. I already missed so many classes. Will I be held back a year?'

"Eunjang," Donald answered for Gray. 'If Gray does decide that he's ready, I can re-enroll him into Eunjang. He's already ahead of the normal curriculum for his current grade, so he'll be able to move onto his second year. I'll make sure that Gray and his friends are all put into the same class to Gray isn't alone,'

Thank you for reading D-TecnoLife.

Will there be another sequel?
Possibly. I need to fully write out the idea or else it'd end up messy. If I am satisfied with what I write, it'll be published as Rolling Star. 

Alones was about Gray beginning his healing process and reuniting with his friends.
D-TecnoLife was about Gray beginning to open up to his friends again and reuniting with Stephen.
Rolling Star might be about bringing the monsters to justice and Donald's past, if all goes according to plan. But like Leonard Snart's Four Rules of Planning goes: make the plan, execute the plan, expect the plan to go off the rails, throw away the plan.