~~~~~~ Sometimes Sanghyuk wondered if any person in his house was broken. He had never thought it was off, however going to school and seeing all of those children...it made him wonder about his own house.
Recently it was career day. Lots of kids brought their parents, and they told everyone what their moms and dads did for a living. Of course, Sanghyuk's mother didn't come, but listening to them talk had made Sanghyuk wonder about his own home.
Sanghyuk had never met his dad, but mommy acted weirdly sometimes. She always said that she was stressed, but no one else was ever as stressed as mommy. It always took his mom time to be nice, no matter what it was. Sometimes she was mean to Sanghyuk, but if he was sad then she would come play with him to make him feel better. It felt good, but no one else in his school still played with toys or spoke like Sanghyuk did. His mom encouraged it.
Or maybe his hyung was the one that was broken. Hyung was never nice to him, not even when he was a baby. If Sanghyuk tries to talk to him his hyung will hit him and shove him till he goes away. Mom says it's just brother's fighting, and he never gets in trouble. But Sanghyuk still doesn't understand. He never wants to fight with hyung, but his hyung loves to fight. Sanghyuk knows that his hyung doesn't like him, and that's why he's scary. Sometimes it really hurts when he pushes him.
To everyone else Sanghyuk was the broken one. All he had ever tried to do was behave well and be a good boy, but they said that Sanghyuk needed to grow up. He couldn't see what he was doing wrong, so he never knows if what they're saying was right or not. Even if it really was him, it's not like he could ask if he should know it. You can't ask a broken toy how they know that there broken, but Sanghyuk really doesn't see how else to do it.
Sitting in his room that day, Sanghyuk wanted confirmation. He didn't want to just think of things anymore, but he wanted to know that it really wasn't him. Standing up, Sanghyuk walked over to the office. His mom was still working.
"Mommy?"
"What do you need?" Sanghyuk sighed, having problems actually saying it out loud. His mom never looked up from her work.
"Is there something wrong with me?" That got his mother's attention. It took her a moment, and for a second she looked like a TV show that someone had pressed pause on, but then she looked at him. When she did, her expression was different.
"What would ever make you think that?" Sanghyuk watched as his mom called him closer to her. He smiled, as she had him sit on her lap and she held him.
"Kids brought their moms at school today. They all talked about what it's like at home, and it made me think. Then when I was playing I broke one of my toys, and it made me think about everything that the kids had said. Their life is so different from ours.....and they all think that something is wrong with me."
"Aw, my baby. Don't listen to them. I love you just the way that you are. You're special, and that's a really good thing."
"But what if I don't want to be special. If I wasn't then maybe you wouldn't be so stressed, and maybe hyung would like me."
"Our feelings have nothing to do with you. Trust me when I say, there is absolutely nothing wrong with you." Sanghyuk had gotten his confirmation, but it didn't make him feel better. If it wasn't him, then that meant it had to be his mommy or hyung, right?
"......okay mommy."
"You're my precious baby, and you look too sad right now. You said your toy was broken, what if I got hyung to fix it for you?"
"I don't want hyung to fix it."
"Well then, I'll buy you a new one. You can come with me, and we'll pick out one together."
"Okay!" Sanghyuk liked that idea. He supposed that figuring out who it was could wait, since he didn't get to spend a lot of time with mommy when she was nice. He wanted to take advantage of it.
Sanghyuk now smiled widely, holding hands with his mom as she led him to the car. ~~~~~
Eating dinner with Hongbin had actually really fun. Sanghyuk was already very excited, since Hongbin had been nice to him all day long. He never once had told Sanghyuk that he was whining or he needed a break. That had never happened before when he played with his mom. Playing with Hongbin was really fun.
Even when they weren't playing, Hongbin was fun to eat with too. He was right when he had said that he acted weirdly, since everything had to be perfect. Hongbin liked each little detail put in an exact spot when they ate, and sometimes it made Sanghyuk laugh. Still, since Hongbin had said to watch out for him he had tried to do his job well. When Hongbin wasn't looking, Sanghyuk would move his fork out a tiny bit. If Hongbin moved it back that's how he knew he needed to tell him.
Choosing somewhere for dinner, Hongbin had chosen a place Sanghyuk hadn't expected. All day they had eaten snack foods that were made in front of you and seemed somewhat special, but for dinner they ate fast food.
"Hongbin hyung?" Sanghyuk started to talk again around halfway through dinner. Just eating was starting to get boring.
"Yeah?"
"I want to play another game." Sanghyuk grinned, as he saw Hongbin's smile. That was the other reason he liked eating with Hongbin. When they were eating, Hongbin couldn't wear the mask.
"We're eating! We can't play another game right now."
"Yes we can. What about the one where you ask me a question and I ask you one."
"You want to do that right now? What else do we need to learn about each other?"
"What kind of music do like?"
"I thought I was supposed to start."
"You took too long. Will answer your question pleeeeaaaassssse?????????"
"Alright alright! I listen to just about everything. Why do you want to play right now?"
"Because we weren't talking and just eating is boring. Why don't you want to play a game that you made up?"
"It's not that I don't want to play, I was just curious. Have you ever watched anyone perform before?"
".....what do you mean?"
"Have you ever seen someone perform on a big stage? Like what we're going to do after this."
"....You mean the thing that's like a talent show! I saw the school show once when I was really little."
"You've never been to something more formal?"
"It's my turn hyyyyuuuung!!!!!" Sanghyuk made a pouty face as he complained, stomping his feet beneath the table.
"This is important."
"It is? Oh, um....no."
"It's okay, you're not in trouble. I'm not mad at you, I just have a few things to teach you. Just to help you out for when we go."
"Okay!" Sanghyuk felt relieved, knowing that Hongbin wasn't upset with him. Now that he was assured, he felt good again. He listened to what Hongbin said carefully, letting Hongbin teach him what to do. It seemed hard, as Hongbin just kept telling him how much he needed to keep quiet.
"Once there finished, then you can clap and talk to me again. But when someone else starts, you have to stay quiet."
"....do we have to be there for long?" Hongbin smiled again, giggling at Sanghyuk's reluctance.
"When we start watching it will be fun. Just wait and see." Sanghyuk nodded, continuing the conversation with Hongbin. This time they kept talking until they were finished eating.
After they had taken a break for a little, Sanghyuk heard a sigh from the other.
"Do you want to head out? It's about time for the show to start."
"Okay." Sanghyuk said that he would leave and started to pick up all of the trash. He threw it away, kind of sad to be going now. It wasn't that he really liked this place, even though it had been really good. He was sad because now he couldn't see Hongbin smile anymore. Still, he wanted him to put the mask back on. He wouldn't want Hongbin to be sick.
Sanghyuk was happy to see Hongbin had been right. Staying quiet for so long was torture, but it was fun to be there. There were some people that had been really good, but not one that had been great yet. Hongbin said one would come soon.
When they first got there Sanghyuk had been the youngest person there. He was afraid he would be the only one that didn't want to be quiet, but he was really happy when he saw that he wasn't. They had sat next to a couple friends near the front row, and the guy next to Sanghyuk had trouble with it too. He kept whispering and moving his legs around.
A performer had just gone off, and Sanghyuk was leaning over to tell Hongbin what he had thought. He got distracted though when the two friends seemed like they were having a problem. The one that looked like he had just woken up was leaning over to the talkative one, his voice sounding very concerned.
"Jaehwan, are you okay?" Sanghyuk knew it was rude to listen in, but he couldn't help himself. He didn't want anyone to be in a bad condition.
"Yeah yeah I'm fine I've just been sitting for a long time. I have a lot of energy you know and sitting for a while is kind of hard. I'll be okay though it's really okay."
"Are you sure? You're speaking really fast again. Maybe we should go walk around for a moment."
"No it's getting dark and I'm sure you would get tired if we walked around again. I wouldn't want you to be exhausted because of me but I probably do need to take a moment out. I can go by myself and you can stay here and keep watching. I'll be really fast so you don't need to make yourself tired again because of me."
"Sanghyuk-ah, what are you doing?" Sanghyuk hadn't realized how fully he had been sucked into their conversation. It seemed like the person he had called Jaehwan was really struggling.
"Hongbin hyung, I think something's wrong."
"What? Are you okay?" Of course Sanghyuk couldn't see Hongbin's entire face, but he could tell from his eyes that he was concerned.
"No, no. I'm fine. Nothing's wrong with me. I think something is wrong with him." Sanghyuk pointed at the person next to him, Hongbin immediately grabbing his hand and pulling it down. He said it was rude to just point at people.
"Hello. I'm so sorry to interrupt, but my friend couldn't help but overhear your conversation. Are you okay?" Hongbin spoke respectfully towards them. He looked really cool, making his sudden interruption seem completely natural.
"We're fine. Thank you for the concern. He's just a little hyperactive, that's all."
"I can walk around with you if you want! I don't like sitting for so long either." Sanghyuk spoke really loud and excitedly, however Hongbin seemed like he wanted him to tone it down. Sanghyuk didn't know why.
"Try and speak a little quieter, okay Sanghyuk? You did nothing wrong, just for first meetings loud can seem awkward to people." Hongbin whispered to Sanghyuk before he allowed the other two to hear them again. Sanghyuk nodded, hoping he hadn't made them uncomfortable.
"We wouldn't want to bother you. It's really fine, we'll just go walk around together." Although the tired guy looked calm, Sanghyuk noticed something different about the other man. He never spoke, but he was still shaking. He was looking more and more out of it.
"It wouldn't bug me. I wanted to get up too and this way you will both get what you need." Sanghyuk looked towards Hongbin, the other giving him a thumbs up to tell him he had spoken well this time.
"Well, if you want to that badly it would really help out. If he starts acting a little eccentric, just bring him back so I can take care of him." Sanghyuk looked at Hongbin, not having even the slightest clue what eccentric meant.
"Bring him back if he starts acting weird." Sanghyuk spoke his okay's and nodded, grateful for the translation.
The tired guy spoke to his friend, making sure he knew what was happening before he allowed him to stand up. Before they left, he gave the two a small introduction.
"This is Lee Jaehwan. Please take care of him."
"My name is Han Sanghyuk. I'll look after him well." Sanghyuk bowed towards the other, a wide smile on his face. Just before Sanghyuk had the chance to lead Jaehwan away, Hongbin got his attention once again.
"Be careful Sanghyuk-ah. If anything happens or you don't know what to do I'll give you my number. Just until you think he's better, don't be too loud or try to play too many games. Okay?"
"Okay hyung." Hongbin took a piece of paper from his pocket, giving his number to Sanghyuk before he let them leave. Even if it seemed like it was unnecessary, Sanghyuk was just grateful he was allowed to. His mom would never have let him do this.
"Don't be too long Sanghyuk." Hongbin waved, his eyes smiling as Sanghyuk lead Jaehwan away.