Shallow Abyss || Zb1

17

Yujin looked around. No one needed to tell him where he was, just by the smell of disinfectant he immediately knew.

He slowly sat up and looked around. It looked more like a hotel than a ward. Yujin disconnected the IV and his hand began to bleed. He didn't mind as he had received worse pain than that.

He opened the door and saw that the hallway was empty so he took the opportunity to leave.

-

Yujin kept staring at the wall clock, waiting for his mother to come in. He didn't care how he looked or if he had eaten. He just wanted to see his mother.

He looked around and scoffed. Their house was almost the size of his classroom. He looked down and nibbled on his nails as he muttered.

"If Dad was still here, we wouldn't have suffered this much"

The door opened and he heard a loud sigh. His mother immediately rested on the couch with her eyes closed. Yujin looked at her, she still had her rubber gloves on and her face mask.

He sighed and patted her knee making her jolt up in fear. Her gaze softened when she saw Yujin.

"Yujin-ah" She muttered as she cupped Yujin's face. Her eyes brimmed with tears. She quickly hugged him as she rubbed his hair.

"How was your stay in Gyuvin's house?" She asked and Yujin was confused. "What?" Yujin muttered.

His mother's face changed "Gyuvin's house. You stayed over at his house. Right?" She asked.
"Oh yeah..it was..good. I missed Aunty and Uncle, I wanted to see them" Yujin lied and smiled.

His mother nodded and smiled as she looked behind Yujin. She saw a folded hospital gown, she looked back at Yujin smiling. She caressed his cheek and felt a bump.

She sighed and looked into his eyes.
"Yujin...Although we didn't live a stable life, We lived a good life and living a good life. Let's continue living a good life." She said and smiled.

"I'll work really hard...so you just need to stay by my side" She muttered and rubbed Yujin's hair as she lovingly smiled.

Yujin stared at his mother.
"I can see you're suffering mom..There's nothing I can do for you. I'm frustrated" Yujin said and his mother smiled.

"Yujin-ah. Do you know why I'm sick everyday?"
She asked and held Yujin's hand.

"It's because there are too many people I hate...I thought about when I'm not sick..It's when I think of you" She said and sighed.

"I may not be the best mother Yujin, but I'm trying..I'll work really hard to make sure you have a future. So you can eat your favorite meal whenever we want, so you can buy all you want without worrying...the least you can do for me is to stop worrying about me"

"Have fun, don't ruin your childhood thinking about me. Okay?" She said smiling. Yujin looked at his mother's tired face. She was too thin and had dark circles around her eyes.

He nodded and looked away because he couldn't bear seeing his mother's sick face.

-

Tae Rae jumped out of his window and landed on the ground. He held in his groan as he stood up. He looked around and started running.

He stopped once he got in front of the Han river.

He held the rails and closed his eyes. He sighed and looked at the river.

"Ah..how long do you think I'll last before visiting you?" He asked the river smiling.

"I know..I know" he said looking down.
"I want to speak too. I want to let it all out. Sometimes, I want to lean on someone too" He said and clenched the rails.

"I can do this. Everything will be fine. I kept telling myself that and tried really hard.." He muttered and wiped the tears he failed to hold in.

"But the truth is..My life always felt so burdensome. I don't think I can wait any longer to be with you.I..I don't think I want to live anymore" He muttered and bitterly chuckled.

"Hyung..." he heard and turned only to see Ricky.

Ricky walked closer and hugged Tae Rae.
"I didn't know you were hurting this much" he said leaning out of the hug. He cupped Tae Rae's face.

"You may feel like you're falling behind others. Even so, you should live. 'Because the weather is nice, Because it's cloudy, I shouldn't die'..Start from there.
As you live...there will come a moment when you realize it was all for today. So live" Ricky said softly smiling.

Tae Rae stared at Ricky. "There's much to life you haven't met yet. I'm sure the river wouldn't want you to miss out on all that. So Hyung, next time, when you feel down. Come to me, not the river. Okay?"
Ricky said softly rubbing Tae Rae's hair.

Tae Rae looked away from Ricky and moved away from him. He put his hands into his pockets and began to run away.

Ricky looked at Tae Rae's vanishing figure and sighed. He turned and faced the river.

"I hope he never comes to see you again. If so, It means I won't get to ever see him again"