SUBURBIA ━ hyunbinlix ✓

十二

Thursday, October 10th

Changbin woke up to the sound of a glass breaking outside of his room, the sound had not only scared him, but it had also scared the feline that laid by his side. He wanted to get up and peek outside of his door to see what had happened, but his body wouldn't move. It was as if his brain and body weren't on the same side. He stayed stuck, laying on the bed, paralyzed.

Though, he shouldn't be as shocked as he was. He was used to the disruption that his father had created for him, it left him constantly restless. Sometimes the raven haired would get 1-2 hours of sleep per night, which was barely enough to keep him going throughout the school days. Despite this, he managed to keep a good grade in most of his classes for he was afraid of what his father would think of him if he didn't make that extra effort.

Once his body was able to function properly, Changbin shifted to check the time. The red light from his alarm clock read '3:27.' He had three more hours until he had to be awake for school, three hours of wasted sleep.

Knowing it would be impossible to get back to bed, Changbin traveled to his door, pausing when his hand finally reached the handle. After taking a few slower breaths, he turned the knob and peered around the doorway before swinging it open fully.

The TV had been on, however all he heard being emitted from it was static. It had filled the room, replacing the deadly silence that usually occupied the space at such a late hour.

Once he spotted his father, he knocked on the wall twice in an attempt to get his attention. He knew the elder had heard it, however the man chose to ignore it as if it were just a part of the static from the television.

Changbin knocked once again, though this time it was louder and managed to power over the static.

"Go back to sleep," his fathers voice came out deep, and the tone was laced with a mix of lingering anger and hatred.

It seemed as if they were the only emotions he had felt for his only son.

'i cant,' Changbin thought to himself. 'you woke me.'

He wished he could say these words out loud to him, yet it would be so much simpler if his father could just look at him.

He knocked one last time, trying to get his father to turn his way. This time it was booming, and he was sure a couple of his neighbors must have heard the sound.

"I said, go back to sleep." His father faced him, his words came out as a growl.

'Can you turn off the TV?' Changbin signed to the elder.

Right after his mother had passed, Changbin became mute due to the trauma. His father and him learnt sign language as a way to communicate with each other without verbally speaking, yet shortly after his fathers love for him got thinner and thinner. He was constantly screamed at and lectured by his father, or blamed for what had happened. Over the years the raven haired had gotten mentally and physically abused by his father— and each year he began melting away, until the original Changbin was gone and replaced.

His father simply gestured to the remote that laid on the couch. It was a way of saying 'do it yourself' without actually speaking. Trying his best to avoid any conflict, Changbin walked over to the couch, proceeding to pick up the small black remote that sat on his sofa. He pressed the 'OFF' button, but it had done nothing; the room was still filled with the irritating white noise.

'batteries are dead,' Changbin signed. 'i'll pick up new ones today.'

His father paid no mind at his attempt to communicate and turned back around in the chair, facing away from Changbin.

He had given up.

The raven haired turned off the TV by pressing the small button on it, and returned to his room where it held the same silence he was used to.

Today will be a long day, he thought. A very long day.

•••

Changbin sat in class, moving his board beneath his feet as he worked on his exam, the wheels squeaking each time they moved slightly too far beneath his desk. He made a mental note to pick up a new pair on his way home, along with the pack of batteries for the broken remote.

Though he finished early, he noticed his seatmate to be struggling. The younger tapped his pen on the desk repeatedly, annoying Changbin. It was bad enough he had walked into class each day smelling foul, the least he could do was stay quiet.

The sound continued until Changbin nudged the others shoulder, forcing him to pause his current occupation.

After eyeing the brunettes paper, Changbin could make out a last name, but his arm covered the first.

'Hwang'

Changbin knew the family to be wealthy, they fed off others money and became successful from it. He found it detestable. The raven haired figured that their son would be similar to them, despite his simple look and careless actions.

Hyunjin was someone that Changbin had grew up with, though they never talked besides the simple topics such as homework, or if the other had a pencil. Even though they weren't friends, Changbin had always been an observer rather than someone who was involved. He noticed Hyunjins smile fade away since the beginning of this year, or the way his eyes were always sad. Part of Changbin wanted to comfort the younger and act as if he wasn't who he really was, but the other part knew Hyunjin wasn't a good person, he was just like the rest of his family.

Besides, its not like Changbin would do a very good job at comforting him anyway.

Once the bell rang Changbin dashed out of the door and down the hall to enter the bathroom at the end. He had been anticipating a response from the two anonymous writers.

Once he entered, he pulled the red marker out of his bag and walked into the stall that contained their conversations.

'i'd give you a hug if possible' The purple writer said 'my mom says my hugs are the best.'

A smile tugged at he corners of Changbins mouth, though it had only been a short time he felt the need to hug the owner of the purple marker.

He noticed the message about the black marker owners absence, and realized how long it had been since they got a reply from him.

He chose to leave a small heart by 'purple' just to let them know he saw it and replied to 'black.'

"yeah,, i miss you :(" he wrote, but thought it came out too clingy and crossed the words out.

He then rewrote, "yeah, you went M.I.A out of nowhere, everything good?"

Once he capped his pen, the bell rung signaling that he was late to class.

He ran out of the stall, in hope that the next time he came he would see a response from the owner of the black sharpie.