SUBURBIA ━ hyunbinlix ✓

十五

Monday, October 14th

Changbin felt a shiver travel throughout his entire body, wincing as the cool morning air seeped through the sleeves of his stained hoodie.

The sun was beginning to rise above the horizon line, andthe boy guessed it couldn't have been later than 6am, however he knew he had been out on his walk for no less than three hours.

His insomnia had greeted him upon entering the typical "sleepy hours" of the night, and he found it appropriate to sneak out past his father, who was passed out on the living room couch, and go on his usual stroll throughout his surrounding woods.

Seeing as he didn't like music, the boy relied on the sounds resonating throughout the cool night air to lull him into a serene state of mind, and it was rather  effective — most of the time.

Deciding that it would be a good idea to return back to his humble abode and find something edible to put into his mouth, he began to walk back in the direction of his house, kicking random rocks and sticks that were strewn about and in his path.

The raven haired boy opened his door as quietly as possible, wincing as the living room floor boards creaked beneath his feet. His father was passed out still — whether it was from alcohol or exhaustion or something else entirely was a complete mystery to Changbin, yet he really didn't want to find out either way.

He realized that he would eventually have to get dressed for school and head out to face the wrath of reality, however part of him was seriously considering skipping that morning.

Making his way to his kitchen, Changbin settled with an apple to satisfy his hunger, before tip toeing past his father and into his bedroom to attempt to get ready for the day.

He had originally planned to go to his room and get ready for school, however his bed was practically calling his name, and just the thought of attending his classes was enough to make him shrivel up in disgust.

As a result of these feelings, the raven haired boy found himself in a new pair of pajama pants, snuggled up into a ball beneath his covers as he hid away from the world the best he could.

. . .

It wasn't uncommon for Changbins father to sleep away the day in the living room, a beer bottle clutched in one hand and the TV remote clutched in the other. Thankfully, Changbin had replaced the batteries, so instead of the house echoing with the resonating sound of white noise, it was a football game turned to a lower volume.

Changbin found himself flipping through the pages of his astronomy book, eyes cast towards the pages lazily as he memorized a couple of new constellations with ease. Seeing as he had very few interests, he tended to use up his spare time embracing the minimal amount of things he did enjoy.

He had a random podcast playing on his phone, which filled the silence of his bedroom with comfortable conversation from the device. If he squinted hard enough, he could almost pretend he wasn't alone.

After a couple more minutes of the boy flipping through his book in silence, he decided that he would head off to the skate park to practice some new tricks that he had been interested in trying as of lately.

Grabbing his trusted skateboard from where it humbly leaned against his closet door, the raven haired boy pulled on his vans and walked down the hallway as quietly as possible so he wouldn't disturb his father.

This however, turned out to be useless.

"Where're you going?" the gravely voice of his hungover father nearly scared him out of his skin, and Changbin sighed quietly out of frustration.

'Skate park' he signed, looking down at his shoes with a sudden new interest.

"Why aren't you in school?" came the next question, which Changbin hoped he wouldn't be faced with. Why couldn't his father just stay asleep, for a few moments more? Or even for the remainder of the day?

'I feel sick' he signed, fidgeting with a loose string on his hoodie. 'I want to go to the skate park to get fresh air.'

His father gave him a skeptical look, however simply gave a sharp nod towards the front door, almost like he was telling him to hurry up and get along if he wanted to go so badly.

Changbin scurried past his father to the front door as quickly as he could to avoid conflict, pushing the door open and moving at a fast pace in the direction of the skate park.

It had been a while since he had come into a physical conflict with his father, however every time he felt like things were getting better he would find something new to set him off. Changbin hoped to avoid such conflicts for as long as he could, which meant that he would have to step on eggshells around the man he was trapped inside of a house with.

His shoes crunched against the gravel beneath him in a satisfying manner as he entered the skate park, and he let out an almost inaudible sigh of relief as he flipped his board down and stepped onto it.

Before her passing, his mother had always encouraged Changbin to do whatever he believed would make him happy, and bought him his first skateboard without hesitation as soon as he showed interest in the activity.

She was the one there for him when he found a piece of him within the stars, and she would sing him to sleep each night where he found himself unable to rest on his own. Her voice was unique, however confined within the comfort of their home, for Changbins young ears only.

Changbin was snapped out of his thoughts as he nearly crashed due to a simple pebble being in the way of his wheel, and he would've let out a frightened yelp if his vocal cords were capable of such strain. All he managed, however, was a mediocre squeak, which even then caused his vocal cords to whine in protest.

Pausing to collect himself, the familiar aroma of weed and other assortments of drugs began to flood the otherwise clean air in the area, and Changbin had to bite back a gag at the repulsive scent.

It was a pity, really, that irresponsible people had to ruin what was supposed to be a calming skating session by himself, however the raven haired boy knew his visit to the park would most likely be cut short.

He couldn't stand being around the very substances that ended his mothers life.