Bully | Beomjun / Yeongyu

Chapter 4

Yeonjun spares a glance at Beomgyu as they walk, he looks much smaller than usual, walking beside him with his head slightly lowered. He looks over him closely, checking if he is walking alright and if he is bruised or injured anywhere.

Yeonjun swallows hard, he feels a mixture of emotions as he continues to observe him. He can't help but admire how the boy looks in the streetlights, his pretty features only emphasised in the night air.

Yeonjun snaps out of his thoughts when he realises how intently he has just been watching Beomgyu. How long has he been watching him like that? he shakes himself out of it and tries to distract himself from these new weird feelings by starting a conversation.

"..So..."

He says, breaking the silence between the two.

"How..how far away is your house?"

Beomgyu lifts his head to look up as Yeonjun speaks. There's still a hint of uncertainty in his eyes. Yeonjun can't imagine how strange this must be for the boy. "u...um...a-about 10 minutes from here."

Yeonjun nods, listening to the way the boy speaks, his stutter seems much more prominent now, especially when he's nervous. He can't help but find it somewhat cute. He scolds himself for letting such a thought cross his mind again.

"..So...You work at a café. What do you even do there?"

"U-um...s-serve coffee...take orders, clean table...w-whatever need to be done really"

Yeonjun nods as he listens to him.

"..Sounds like a lot of work for someone your age.." Yeonjun comments.

"W-we're the same age..." Beomgyu says.

"Yeah, yeah I know. You just seem too young to be working so much, that's all."

"O-oh...y-yeah" Beomgyu says before the awkward silence comes back.

Yeonjun frowns slightly at the silence between them, he feels awkward but he can't think of anything to say to break it. He is so used to being around a talkative group of friends, that suddenly it's hard for him to find words to say. Then a thought pops into his head, but he hesitates for a moment, wondering if he should really bring it up.

"..Hey I was..I was wondering...You're always at school. And you work a lot too. So when do you have time for friends?"

Beomgyu looks at the ground. "w-well...i-i...I don't really...have any..."

Yeonjun is shocked to hear those words come out of Beomgyu's mouth. He would have thought Beomgyu had at least one friend.

"....Wait, really? None at all?"

Beomgyu shakes his head. "n-no..."

Yeonjun's heart aches slightly in his chest at this information. Beomgyu really doesn't have anyone, he's always alone.

"..But...but why? How come you don't have any friends?"

Beomgyu is silent for a moment, unsure if what he's about to say will anger Yeonjun.

Yeonjun notices Beomgyu fall silent. He wonders what is going through the boy's mind right now. Yeonjun prompts him to continue talking.

"What is it? You can tell me"

Beomgyu starts. "W-well...y-you guys...a-are always picking on me...I-it's hard to make friends when no one wants to talk to the kid that gets bullied all the time...no one even wants to sit with me because...well...they'll become a loser too if they do..." He says quietly.

Yeonjun feels a pang of guilt at those words. His heart aches in his chest and he feels an overwhelming amount of guilt. It's his fault that Beomgyu is so lonely. All those weeks of tormenting him with his friends, thinking nothing of it, and never realising just how much this bullying had affected him.