ENTERTAINER, MINSUNG

Chapter 13

Eight years ago

Arriving home, Jisung entered the house, expecting to find his dad sleeping in his room or on the couch, but he was awake. Jisung's heart sank as he realized that his father had been drinking, his usual coping mechanism for dealing with stress and disappointment. He slowly closed the door.

"What's wrong?" Jisung asked cautiously, his voice trembling slightly.

His father's eyes turned to face Jisung, his words laced with bitterness and frustration. "Where have you been?"

"Uhm...to a friend's house."

"Do you want anything to drink? Or to eat?" his dad looked at him for a long time, staring into his eyes.

"God, you look exactly like her," Jisung looked down.

"I think it's your fault, she left. We were doing so well before you came, I think that you're damned."

"I got fired," he spat out, the words dripping with venom as he struggled to maintain his balance.

"Fuck," Jisung muttered under his breath.

"It's her fault, you know," his father continued, his voice dripping with venom as he pointed an accusatory finger at Jisung. "And yours too. You're just like her."

"I did everything I could to make her happy, but you know what? She was never going to be happy, not with you around. Always complaining."

"It's your fault she left."

"What did you say?"

"You heard me. It's your fucking fault," he repeated, this time scanning each word.

"You little shit!" the man got up from the couch, dangerously advancing toward Jisung.

But Jisung refused to back down, his own frustration and resentment bubbling to the surface. "I'm not going to stand here and let you blame me for everything," he snapped, his voice rising with each word. "You're the one who's always drinking, always angry. You think you can just blame me for everything that goes wrong in your life? It's your fault mom left us, because you're too much of a coward!"

But as his father's anger escalated, fueled by the alcohol coursing through his veins, Jisung knew that he needed to get out of there before things got out of hand. But something held him there, unable to move.

He felt a burning sensation on his cheek, which made him bring a hand to his cheek. He had just slapped him.

"You ungrateful little shit," he spat, his voice seething with contempt. "I gave up everything for you, and this is how you repay me? By disrespecting me in my own home?"

"You didn't do shit for me, you left me to rot along with you!"

"You think you're so smart, don't you?" he sneered, his voice dripping with disdain. "You think you can talk back to me and get away with it?"

"You wanna kill me? I bet hell is better than staying here with you," the man lunged forward, his hand swinging out in a vicious arc. The force of the blow sent Jisung staggering backward, his body recoiling from the impact as pain exploded across his mouth and his nose.

Jisung's hand instinctively flew to his face, his fingers coming away wet with blood. The metallic taste of iron filled his mouth.

"Come on, you can do better," Jisung said, spitting out blood.

Jisung's vision blurred as his father's fists rained down on him, each blow sending waves of pain through his body. He stumbled backward, his legs giving way under his feet, and he crashed to the floor. Even as he lay sprawled on the floor, blood dripping from his split lip and swollen nose.

"Fuck you!"

He emitted a growl and scrambled back to his feet, clenching his fists at his sides with heavy breathing. But his father was implacable, his anger and hatred fueling his strength. He grabbed Jisung by the collar of his shirt, lifting him off the ground and pinning him against the wall with a grip on his throat.

Jisung struggled to breathe, his chest heaving as he struggled against his father's iron grip. But no matter how hard he struggled, he could not free himself; his father's fingers dug into his flesh like claws.

"Is this what you want?" sneered the father, his face contorted in anger as he tightened his grip on Jisung's throat. He let go of him, letting Jisung fall to the ground, hitting his head. Sobbing, he managed to get to his feet, his whole body aching.

The father lashed out with a wild kick, his shoe sinking into Jisung's stomach, taking his breath away. Jisung slumped to the ground in pain, gasping for air as he struggled to regain his feet. With every kick, Jisung felt a searing pain shoot through his body, his senses overwhelmed, his head spinning.

The man walked away, leaving his own son crumpled on the floor. Jisung sat down, resting his back on the wall, groaning in pain as he brought a hand to his stomach. He brought his legs to his chest, resting his head on his knees. He felt exhausted.

Jisung didn't go to school the next morning. After the fight, he fell asleep on the kitchen floor. He managed to clean the blood and the bruises; they were all over him, and the pain was too strong to handle.

He limped to his bedroom, trying to find some pills to alleviate his aches. Closed the door shut, making sure that his dad couldn't get in. He flopped onto the bed, moaning in pain.

Minho had texted him about why he wasn't at school, but he didn't reply.

He skipped the whole week, ignoring Minho's calls and texts. He didn't want him to see him in that state.