𝐂𝐇𝐎𝐊𝐄 𝐌𝐄 || 𝐒𝐔𝐍𝐒𝐔𝐍 𝐀𝐔 𝟏𝟖+ ||

Pity - Chapter 25

"Who did this to you?" Sunoo asked again, as Sunghoon let out a weary sigh before speaking, his voice strained with the weight of painful memories.

"Jihoon." he finally uttered, the name foreign on Sunoo's ears.

The younger's brows furrowed in confusion as he waited for Sunghoon to continue.

"He's my..." Sunghoon paused, hesitation lacing his words, "stepbrother." Sunoo's eyes widened in surprise as he looked at Sunghoon who was trying to hide his eyes from younger, looking at him with pity and concern.

"Stepbrother?" Sunghoon nodded solemnly, a bitter laugh escaping his lips as he recalled his father's infedality towards his mom.

"I'm an illegitimate child, Sunoo-ya." Sunghoon confessed, his voice cracking under the shame.

The younger's heart shattered into a million pieces as he listened to the bitterness in Sunghoon's voice.

"The child who was never meant to be born." Sunghoon said, his words dripping with anguish. "I was supposed to have died the day I was born."

Tears spilled from Sunoo's eyes, wetting his cheeks with sorrow. He never knew Sunghoon endured such torment.

Hearing about Sunghoon's painful past made Sunoo want to weep openly and pull the older into a tight embrace, hoping to make him forget his torment, if only for a moment.

Sunoo ached to his very core, realizing now the depth of suffering Sunghoon had endured.

Sunghoon continued. "The mayor of this town is my father, but he doesn't care. In fact, he forgot about the girl he left behind, pregnant with his child. Me."

Sunoo's hand flew to his mouth in horror as Sunghoon uttered his next words.

"Do you know, Sunoo-ya, when he found out, he tried to kill me?"

"Kill him?" Sunoo thought, aghast. His hands trembled, lips quivering in anguish.

"How could a father do that?" he asked aloud.

Sunoo noticed the glimmer of tears in Sunghoon's eyes, though the elder fought to restrain them, unwilling to appear weak.

Sunoo's heart raced more. Sunghoon continued to share his past with Sunoo, recounting the grueling days and nights he worked tirelessly, often skipping meals, to provide for his mother while still trying to keep up with his studies.

Though exhausted, he pressed on, driven by a sense of duty and love for his his mom.

"I'm not a bad person - you understand me right, Sunoo-ya?" Sunghoon implored, his voice cracking. "I'm like this because....because everyone told me I'm evil, that I'm no good-" he broke down into gut-wrenching sobs, his body shaking with the force of his anguish. Tears streamed down his cheeks as the pain of his past came flooding back.

Sunoo's heart shattered at the sight, and he too began to cry silently, weeping alongside Sunghoon. He longed to take away the older's suffering, to erase the wounds that had been inflicted on his soul.

"You can stop now, hyung. It's okay. I understand everything now." Sunoo whispered, embracing Sunghoon tightly.
He wished his arms could shield Sunghoon from the cruelty of the past, absorb the ache that still lingered in his heart.

Sunoo would give anything to soothe the torment that raged inside his hyung, even his own happiness. He held Sunghoon close as they both wept, clinging to each other amidst the tide of sorrow.

Sunoo gently stroked his hand back and forth, murmuring words of comfort into his hair. As the minutes passed, Sunghoon's sobs gradually subsided into soft hiccups and sniffles, though he kept his face buried in Sunoo's chest, drawing strength from his embrace.