"Skeleton's back," Jooheon announced as Hyungwon walked through the door.
"Hi," Hyungwon said.
"How'd it go?" Minhyuk asked, almost bolting out of his chair as Hyungwon entered the room.
"Fine."
"Was it your mom or your dad or both or...?" Wonho began, curious but also twitchy. He still didn't know if he'd get a visit, and it was putting him on edge.
"Both."
"That's nice," Changkyun said, shrugging.
Hyungwon just sat down in his seat, folded his arms, and laid his head down.
"...or not," Changkyun amended, looking away with a twinge of discomfort.
"Son Hyunwoo?"
Shownu nodded and pushed back his seat, exiting the room, leaving it oddly quiet behind him.
***
Shownu got to the room to find his mom already inside.
"Hi, Mom," Shownu said with a soft smile after he'd picked up the phone.
"Shownu," she replied, her eyes crinkling at the edges. "How are you guys doing?"
"We're doing well," Shownu said, leaning on the counter slightly.
"And he's..." She trailed off, biting her lip, unable to hide the worry in her eyes.
Shownu just smiled reassuringly. "He's okay, Mom. I see him every now and then but he's doing all right."
"Good. Good..." She swallowed, trying to contain her emotion. "Anything interesting happen lately, Shownu?"
He laughed to himself. "Not much. You know how Jooheon can be. He's been a little twitchy lately. He punched the new kid yesterday, though, so he'll probably calm down for a little bit."
She frowned. "I remember when you came in with a black eye once. You said that it was from Jooheon, right?"
Shownu shrugged his shoulders, but there was a hint of a smirk on his face. "It's okay, Mom. We're friends. He just can't control himself all the time. But it's okay to be different, right?"
She nodded, her eyes shining as she looked at her only son. "Yes, Shownu. Different is okay. You know that I love you, right? No matter-" Her throat choked up a bit. "No matter what. And your dad loves you too, you know that?"
Shownu smiled, his eyes darting down as he played with his fingers. "He's in the hallway, right?"
She nodded. "He came to see you. He always does, you know. Just...it's hard on your dad...seeing you...and thinking about...how special you are." That's what she called it. Not a problem or wrong behavior. She called it "special." Shownu wondered if the other kids in M-wing had parents who thought of them as "special" and not just mistakes, but he wasn't sure.
"I know," Shownu answered after a moment. He loved his dad, he really did, and he understood why his dad had such a hard time seeing him face-to-face and talking with him. The only times Shownu got to see his dad any more were in the few seconds that the door would stand ajar as his mom left, giving him an angled view into the hallway, where he'd see his dad staring back at him, and Shownu would smile, because he wanted his dad to know that he was happy and okay and that his dad didn't need to worry.
"Don't change, baby," she said, tracing a pattern on the glass because she couldn't smooth down his hair with the barrier between them. "I don't want to lose you. Any of you."
Shownu nodded. "I love you, Mom. And tell Dad that I said that I love him too, okay?"
She nodded before blowing Shownu a kiss, and he held his hand out, closing it around the invisible gift. Then he watched closely as she left the room, his eyes following her out the door and into the hallway, where they met his dad's eyes.
Shownu smiled, and the door closed.
He looked down at his hand, uncurling his fingers one by one to find his hand empty, as it always was.
Then he stood up and returned to the classroom.
***
"How was it?" Minhyuk asked, noticeably less excited than before. He was still antsy, tapping his foot up and down and up and down, but after the last few kids had come back in a worse state than they'd left in, he was anxious about asking.
"My mom's doing well," Shownu said with a smile. "My dad too, although I just talked to my mom."
Minhyuk nodded. "That's good. Good for them. That's nice," he rambled, biting his lip and staring at the door, waiting for the ward guard to come in and announce the next visitor.
The guard entered a moment later. "That was the last of the visitors for today. The next visitation session will be two weeks from today." He checked his watch. "You'll be in the classroom until your normally allotted time is up, and then you can return to your rooms." He stepped out, leaving the kids alone.
"That can't be right," Minhyuk said, looking around at the other boys, who avoided his eyes (Hyungwon better than most since he was asleep). "My mom said...she said she would..." He swallowed. "What about your parents?" he asked Kihyun, although he already knew the answer.
Kihyun raised an eyebrow. "I wouldn't go talk to my mom even if she did show up."
Minhyuk swiveled in his chair, his eyes wildly hunting the only other person in the room who had not been called. "And...and-"
Wonho shrugged, looked uncomfortable as he shifted in his seat. "We aren't close," he reasoned, although he didn't really know why he'd been expecting to get a visit at all.
Minhyuk bit his lip before slumping down in his seat. Changkyun looked over with sad eyes, used to supporting his roommate through depressive cycles or when his medication wasn't working effectively, but it was hard to help when Minhyuk had gotten his hopes up and then had them crushed.
"Maybe next time, yeah?" he suggested, biting his lip because he knew how weak and halfhearted that sounded, but Changkyun had no other words of consolation.
"Yeah, maybe," Minhyuk said, laying his head on his arms. "Or maybe not."
