Pain, pain, pain // hoseok

uno

There she was, Lin Changying, the so-called innocent teen. To be able to move from China to Korea within such short notice, being the high school student she was, she had to learn Korean fast. Not being accepted to fit in by her peers was Changying's worst nightmare; however the least of her worries was whether she would make any friends.

"Changying! I hope you're not going to sleep this whole ride!" Screeched Changying's mother as they boarded the quiet plane.

"Mother, you're going to make a scene. Quiet down." Changying sighed.

She sometimes wondered why she had to control her mother instead of the other way around.

As the women found their seats they buckled in, waiting for the safety announcement at the start of the flight.

But as the kind voice chimed in the native language what safety procedures there were, Changying got lost in thought.

The cloud inside her head that was thoughts swirling around cleared to reveal something she would not take her mind off for the whole flight. It was something Changying did not want to discuss with another soul and would not be, any time in the future.

The teen shoved her hands into every pocket in her coat, feeling around for the cold, hard screen of her phone.

Then something clicked.

She left it in her suitcase.

Which was in the cargo hold.

And she couldn't access it until the end of the flight.

Changying pulled at her thick long hair in an increasing amount of frustration. She kicked her heels into the chair and bashed her right ankle against her left, pain stinging and tingling up her calf.

"Ah, shit." She gasped out, clutching her leg in pure and utter pain.

"You look like you've just eaten a lemon." Someone giggled hoarsely from nearby to Changying.

She glanced up, the pained expression on her face turning to one of indignation.

"And why would you want to provoke me when you can clearly see I'm in pain here?!" She asked, a look of hostility lingering on her face.

What she thought was the "immature" teen boy froze in his laughter and shuffled away defensively, "I didn't mean anything, I was just joking. Sorry." He bowed as much as he could, since he was sat down.

As he bowed, Changying acted as if she was going to ruffle his hair and say, "It's no problem, just be careful what you say next time." But instead, the girl snaked her hand to his neck and dug her black and red acrylic nails into it, smiling nastily as the boy inhaled in agony.

He lifted his head up and felt around the nape of his neck, his eyes glistening with fright and his lips quivering.

Changying stared around at her surroundings before saying in a hushed whisper, "Spill to anyone and..." She gestured to her hand and slid it across her neck, a look of satisfaction painted onto her face.

The teen stared, panic-stricken and intimidated by the woman who had just caused him pain, yet still looked his age.

Jung Hoseok was the teen's name. He was known in school for being the bright boy with an outgoing nature and the sunshine who made everyone's day.

Hoseok was not used to being hurt like this by someone he thought was his age. Everyone he knew would protect him as if he was their only hope of having a happy existence. But before that there was his mother... a single mother fighting for her son's life. That was before she made some new "friends". Correction; alcoholic gamblers with a habit of encouraging people into doing horrid things whilst getting them drunk enough so they wouldn't remember a thing.

You could imagine what they did to Hoseok's mother, if you didn't have a brain the size of a maggot.

They got her drunk on dozens of shots, causing her to gamble so much and so regularly that she lost her money. She became in dept and to make matters worse, lost her job. Hoseok comforted her as she became more and more distressed, making her more and more drunk. Every night she came home at ridiculous times, smelling strongly of alcohol and an aroma of old smoke following in her wake. She became violent. She abused Hoseok and enslaved him to the point of starvation.

So really, Hoseok wasn't the happiest and most amazing teen at school. No one would believe or understand him if he confessed all that had happened to him those past years before he moved in with his Grandma. Not a soul would think that depression was what he concealed.

And the way this woman was treating him reminded him of his shameful mother.

Hoseok leaned back in his seat and attempted to sleep like he had been for the whole flight so far. This became hard for him when his neck began to pang with pain and his head started to bang like a drum.

Meanwhile, Changying watched the suffering boy with great smugness. The thought in her head? Yes, it stayed with her all the time. The reminder that she could hurt whoever she wanted but of course wouldn't get the blame. Adults were blinded by her innocence to ever believe that she would even harm a fly. But this... this boy, he looked like the type of boy to tell his friends who would tell the "grown-ups".

'You know what they say?' Changying thought to herself, cracking her knuckles and smirking valiently, 'Snitches get stitches.'

'But in my case, snitches get the punishment they deserve. Torture, everlasting pain.'

Changying scanned her hands, smiling at the power she held in these small body parts.

She inspected the boy again.

'I hope he's ready for a life of torment if he's going to even give a clue to anyone.' The girl cogitated, grinning.