❝Looking down on me was your greatest mistake.❞
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Despite him being unable to earn a single penny in over two years now, the run of bad luck still did not seem like abandoning Jung Hoseok's side just yet. So when his sister gets admitted into a...
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Under normal circumstances, Hoseok would have a variety of schedules slated consecutively for him to check off the list once he got home. The gulf between the nature of those tasks was so wide that on one hand, while he browsed through the job vacancies listed on every single employment-providing portal that he had managed to track down by then, he was also pacing across the breadth of his home— a duster in his grip as he simultaneously wiped every nook that existed, squeaky clean.
Residing with his sister had definitely made day-to-day survival a lot easier for Hoseok, but sharing a house also implied sharing responsibilities at the same time. Not that he had ever scrunched up his nose when asked by Injae to run an errand for her, yet streaming up and down innumerable offices in the daytime in order to present his candidature was as much grueling as grinding oneself at an actual workplace. His keeping quiet about this ordeal had never served its intended purpose, though. His muscles did not stop aching, nor did Injae when it came to raving about how his efforts were not at par to land him even a part-time gig.
"At least she didn't kick me out despite all that has happened. I owe her big time." Hoseok mumbled, a gratified expression surfacing on his face once he sighted his standalone dwelling basking in the mild shades of dusk.
Nevertheless, his appreciation towards Injae— although being as genuine as ever— still did not resonate with his wishes pertaining to the moment. He was worn to a frazzle, certainly in no condition to support his frame and subsequently gaslight himself into assisting his sister. The day had, in no way, been generous to him after all. All the good parts of it was merely a facade that would not mean an iota to him if his aspirations were not brought to fruition in the end. And staying awake would only tempt him into brooding over possibilities that had an ill-disposed ring to them, because that was simply how his brain was programmed to function.
Therefore, growing abreast with the fact that it would be absurd of him to even dream of throwing down the gauntlet to such insidious thoughts, Hoseok decided that he just wanted to sleep tonight. Nestle himself in the arms that had always provided him unconditional warmth. Snuggle up against the most familiar embrace of his duvet.
"Injae would never know that I skipped cleaning today. It's not like she's home either," he reminded himself, doffing his shoes as he replaced them with a pair of slippers placed nearby. "I'm the captain of both the teams and I'm winning, of course."
However, his confidence receded as quickly as it had surged once his eyes met with two unnervingly hollow ones. Hoseok's pupils disoriented for a split second upon that shocker, him immediately resorting to a vehement head-shake so that they were stabilised. His lips— though parted— moved in a mechanical manner, appearing like he had just caught a ghost advancing towards him as if it was the most common phenomenon to witness for a human being. A jar occurred in his knee in the meantime, forcing him to sit down on the floor with a thud.
"Injae? Is that really you?" He whispered, tears pricking the walls of his eyes. "I'm so glad to see you healthy again. Please forgive me for having overworked you all this while. You must resent me for being such an idle brother—"
