Healina
"It's been a while since we've had a day together." Seokmin said, pulling an arm over the older boy he was walking along side.
"Seok you come to my house virtually everyday." The other said, rolling his eyes at the dramatic exaggeration.
"That's not the sameeee," Seokmin whined like a small child, pulling on Joshua's sleeve, "Let's go to the mall like bratty teenage girls and regret spending money on overpriced stripy shirts we already have ten varieties of, sound good?"
"To my wallet? No, to those eyes that mean I can't say no to you? Yes of course, anything," Seokmin giggled at his cuteness. Anyone would've mistaken them for a couple, spending so much time together, confiding in one another and yet Seokmin was still so afraid, the love he had for Joshua stemmed passed romantic, it was deep and filled with such meaning that it was hard to describe.
They walked quietly to the mall, taking in the beautiful place they lived, cool breezes melting into new life that early spring. Snowdrops lined their path as they walked through a park not too far from the shopping centre.
A dog ran past, almost tripping Seokmin over but his face soon changed to one of delight. "SHUA LOOK, A PUPPY!" He boomed far too loudly for the peaceful park.
As any 19 year old would, he began frantically chasing it around, not yet taking notice of any owner, although confused at first, Joshua did. "Mrs.Yoon?" He questioned, seeing her for the first time in months. The leash suggested it was hers but he knew the Yoons didn't have any pets the last time he saw them.
The warm older woman's eyes widened at the sight of her son's childhood friend. "Joshie!" She exclaimed quickly pulling him into a hug. It seemed to him that she was doing far better, her floral dress and large smile suggested that anyway.
Seokmin came up behind them, now carrying the dog, to greet the older woman. She cooed at how sweet they were but felt a slight pang in her chest at the absence of her son.
"Joshie, Seokie, meet Hannie." The woman spoke, gesturing to the dog with a smile.
"Hannie..." Joshua trailed off, unsure that replacing a son you were destined to never see again with a small puppy was a good idea. "For Jeonghan, of course, I know it might seem a little... strange but Hannie is a nice reminder, don't worry."
The dog looked up with sparkling eyes, "He's lovely, Mrs.Yoon." Seokmin beamed, stroking the dog in his arms for the umpteenth time in the past few minutes.
The trio naturally gravitated towards a bench to sit and chat for a while, it was still early so the boys weren't worried about their shopping trip. "So, how have you boys been handling it?" She asked gently.
"I'm much better now, Seokmin has been a massive help and now I just hope he's happy. Some days are worse than others and I do really miss him a lot but I can go about my life without going too crazy so I think that's a good sign. Oh! I never got to tell you I was accepted on for my astrology masters." Joshua smiled, wanting to detract the focus from his friend.
"That's wonderful honey, I've been doing better too as well as the rest of the family. Really I think what's holding me back is why? It didn't make sense at all and at that moment I had to question how much I actually knew my son."
The two boys looked to each other, communicating telepathically with a nod that meant, 'We should.'
"Actually, we found out some things about him after he left that could've gotten him to Odera. You see, we don't know much and I'd never want to paint Jeonghan in a negative light-" Seokmin's cautious phrasing was cut off by a look of desperation, "Please, I have to know why they took my baby."
"Jeonghan made a lot of decisions, he was a sort of leader for us and always the one to turn to but not all of his decisions were good. Vernon and Seungkwan made this friend who said he knew a Jeonghan from this place he went to, it was an underground bar of sorts for mainly people under 21 where a lot of dodgy stuff often went down. It wasn't all bad but it wasn't exactly favourable or very Healina."
After letting out a gasp, the woman urged the two to continue.
"We didn't believe this guy of course since it's Jeonghan but when we went there they had pictures of him, drinking, partying and it was so hard to believe this was our Jeonghan but it was..."
They continued on and told her everything they knew, Joshua rested his hand on hers reassuringly since it was clear she was struggling to process everything.
"Thank you boys, I needed to hear that, I understand you were apprehensive to tell me but it helps really." She was quiet now, her large grin far more muted than before.
"I don't want to be interrupting your date any longer, I've put such a damper on the mood I'm so sorry-" Instead of correcting her Seokmin decided it was best to just say a short, "Don't apologise." With a reassuring smile.
Mrs.Yoon clicked her tongue and Hannie soon jumped off of Seokmin's lap and down the pathway out of the park. The younger noticed how Joshua was slightly tense after the experience, "Don't worry, you did well." He gave his hand a reassuring squeeze as they too began walking out of the park, soon forgetting to ever separate their intertwined hands.
You did well.