The Clan Part 1: Lost (Monsta X / Reader)

Chapter 6

You stood in awkward silence, watching Shownu patiently as he stared at the man in front of him. You had arrived not too long ago, but even though you greeted the boy, he seemed to want to ignore you. It was earlier in the day when you first showed up, now the sunlight shone through the windows along the far wall, illuminating the room. You sat cross legged on the wooden panels of the floor, twiddling with your fingers in boredom and thinking about the old man quietly lying on the bed in front of Shownu.

It confused you. From the worried expression on Shownu's face as he monitored the man, you knew that the relationship he had with Shownu was extremely close. Yet you couldn't recall a conversation explaining any of this. It stung thinking that he didn't trust you enough to tell you about these problems, especially if you might've been able to help in some way.

"Hey," you called out softly. You silently scolded yourself thinking that he won't reply, but you figured trying to create some conversation in order to break the awkward atmosphere wouldn't hurt. "Who is he? If you don't mind me asking..."

"I mind," Shownu snapped coldly, whipping his head around to give you an acid glare. You jumped a little in surprise at his suddenly harsh attitude and his eyes softened when he saw the hurt expression pass over your features before you shrank back against the wall. He sighed in defeat. He was being unfair to you by getting annoyed at your lack of knowledge. After all, it was his own fault that he didn't tell you or the others about what had been going on. No one except Jooheon and Hyungwon knew about this.

His head lowered down to look at the object he had been subconsciously fidgeting with: a mask made of white cotton fabric. The holes for the eyes and the mouth were a bit stretched and frayed from his constant handling. "He's my grandfather," Shownu rasped out wearily. "He's been here for me since as long as I can remember."

You slowly leaned forward on your knees in an effort to try and get a better view of the man's face. From what you could tell, all the color had been sucked out of his skin, leaving him with a sickly pale hue. His breathing was extremely shallow and rapid, his chest rising and falling at a dangerously fast pace underneath the thick blanket that was spread over him. He was horribly sick, that much was obvious.

You didn't say anything, but you scooted closer to Shownu and timidly placed a hand on his arm to silently reassure him. You glanced at his face, noticing that his eyes were distant. "I was really young when my mother died. My father abandoned me right after, and I haven't heard from him since. It was my grandfather—from my mom's side—who took me in and cared for me," he stopped to take a deep, calming breath before continuing, but his eyes already started to harden into disgust. "He got sick about a year ago. It wasn't bad at first and it could've been cured, but when I brought him in for treatment, he was turned away because we didn't have the money."

Almost immediately, your brain clicked. Brought him in for treatment meaning... "Hyungwon's father," You blurted out. "He was the doctor you brought him to and that's why you hate him so much. Because he refused to let you have the medicine you needed for your grandfather to get better since you couldn't afford it."

His shoulders tensed and his eyes were unrecognizable, clouded over with silent rage as he refused to meet your curious gaze. He nodded stiffly, confirming your words even though you said it more like a statement instead of a question. "He doesn't care," Shownu snarled in detest. "He only does things that'll benefit himself, not the people who actually need it... not even Hyungwon. Just himself. He's a terrible person and he doesn't deserve my respect."

You started to softly rub his arm to comfort him, hoping to prove that he had made the right decision in trusting you with his personal story. "I'm sorry-"