"Thanks for the ride, Bin. I'll see you guys tomorrow!" The two boys in the car chorused out a variety of goodbyes as Hyunjin shut the door and walked up the steps to his porch. He paused for a second and waved as Changbin pulled out of the driveway.
When Changbin's car was out of sight, Hyunjin's smile dropped. He knew what was about to happen. His mother didn't joke around when it came to his safety. He just hoped the punishment would be mild and he could still keep his promise to Changbin.
"Well, let's get this over with," he muttered to himself and opened the door. The door creaked, alerting the occupants of his entry.
"Baby? Is that you?" Hyunjin kicked off his shoes and looked up. There was his mother, hands on her hips, and a small, frustrated smile on her face.
"Hey, Mom." Hyunjin's arms wrapped around the small woman tenderly.
"You are in big trouble young man."
"Yeah, I know." Their calm voices whispering into each other's ears portrayed an endearing scene of reunion, but Hyunjin knew better.
His mother backed up from the hug and stared at him without emotion.
"Follow me." Hyunjin gulped and kept his head down as he made his way to the living room.
Taehyuk looked up from the book he was reading and raised his brows from behind his round wire glasses. He slowly closed the book and put it on the coffee table before standing up to leave.
"No, sit down. I want you here." Taehyuk obeyed and sat while Hyunjin's mother took the place to his right, "sit."
She gestured to the seat across from them, and Hyunjin sat, not sure how he felt about this set up. It felt too close to an interrogation.
"You're grounded." Hyunjin's mouth opened in surprise at the sudden words, but before he could protest, his mother was speaking again.
"Don't say anything. Do you even know how worried I was? You leave at the crazy hours of the morning, with people I don't know, don't tell me where you're going or when you'll be back, ignore my messages and calls until the afternoon just to tell me you're in the hospital?" Hyunjin's head shook from side to side, and he let out little scoffs of disbelief. "Don't you dare scoff at me Hwang Hyunjin. All I ask is you tell me when you go out. I thought you were hurt! So you're staying in this house except for school for the next two weeks and don't try to change that. I know you were just trying to help a friend and I appreciate that, but I want you safe."
Hyunjin filled his cheeks with air and looked up at the ceiling. In a burst he let the air escape his mouth and his head drop down so he was looking at the floor.
What was he gonna tell Changbin?
"I'm done. You should go rest. I'm sure you didn't sleep much last night. I'll call you when dinner's ready."
Hyunjin kept his eyes on the floor as he trudged his way down the hall and into his room, shutting the door.
Grounded. Great.
He looked down at his clothes and wrinkled his nose at his disheveled appearance. Not that he cared too much, but a shower sure sounded blissful right now. Warm water on his sore shoulders? Yes, please!
With that in mind, he stripped off his clothes, left them in a pile by his door, and walked across the hall into the bathroom.
The water distracted his mind as he scrubbed his hair and let it soothe his muscles. It hadn't even been that long, but the sterile hospital smell had creeped its way into every crevice of Hyunjin's body, making his mother's mango body wash a little more appealing. He stayed under the water a little longer than normal, relishing the fact that he could relax for a few moments.
Eventually, Hyunjin stepped out of the shower and grabbed a towel. He strolled across to his room, drying his body as he went, then crouched down next to his dresser, setting the towel in his lap. He opened a few drawers, throwing clothing items out haphazardly, water dripping from his hair down his back. He ran the towel down his hair roughly and squeezed the water from it, then set the towel around his shoulders to catch any extra drips.
He sluggishly pulled on his clothes, a simple pair of athletic shorts and a t-shirt with cut off sleeves. He made it a foot from his bed before launching himself onto the soft surface. His face buried into his pillow as a groan left his lips. He whipped the towel off his neck and threw it on the floor before crawling his hands under the pillow and letting his face be further enveloped by the cushion. His legs wiggled their way fully onto the bed and the stress in his neck from the morning was finally released. He twisted his head to face the wall so he could breathe again. His eyes involuntarily fused closed, and his mind started back up.
Grounded. It was the logical sentence, but now wasn't the time. Felix needed him. Changbin needed him. Changbin of all people had asked for help! He couldn't let him down!
Hyunjin's eyebrows drew together as he lay in his bed. If he said he couldn't do it, would Changbin have anyone else to ask? Would he have to skip work to take care of Felix himself? How would he pay for the hospital bills? Would Hyunjin lose him? Hyunjin couldn't let that happen.
Hyunjin flipped over to his side and curled his legs up before letting out a sound of frustration and surrounding his head with his pillow like a taco.
Knock, knock, knock.
Hyunjin lazily turned his head to the left and pried his eyes open to see Taehyuk at the door. His eyes shut again, hoping he had seen wrong but when he checked, the man was still there. Hyunjin sighed and sat up, back slumped and eyes dangerously close to closing again.
"What do you want?" At this point he knew Taehyuk knew that he didn't want him there, so he didn't really care about the harsh tone he used.
"How's your friend?" Hyunjin raised an eyebrow and tilted his head so he could take in the dark-wash jeans and purple, striped polo shirt the man wore.
"He's doing better."
"What happened?" Taehyuk stayed near the door as Hyunjin bit his lip, not knowing how much to reveal and even if he wanted to be talking to the man right now.
"He got beat up."
"Oh, I'm sorry." There was a bit of silence. "Do you want to see him?"
Hyunjin's back straightened.
"What?" Taehyuk gave him a mischievous smile.
"Do you want to go see him?" He said in confirmation.
"You mean it? What about mom? Aren't I grounded?" Hyunjin's string of questions was cut off by Taehyuk's raised hand.
"She doesn't have to know." Hyunjin wasn't sure he believed what he was hearing.
"Look, Hyunjin. I know you don't like me. I showed up out of nowhere claiming to be family, disrupting your whole life. I get it. I would want your mother to myself too, especially if that's all I had known, but I promise I'm not out to get you. I know what it's like to want to protect the people closest to you. I also know what it's like to have friends and be worried about them." He paused to let the words sink in and watched Hyunjin's reaction. It wasn't much, but Hyunjin nodded, his back relaxing once again.
"I think your mom's punishment would be appropriate if no one was hurt, but I know you'd like to see and take care of your friend, so as long as you can be sneaky, I'll let you go see him after school. However, if you get caught, that's the end. Got it?" Hyunjin couldn't find it in himself to be a brat in this situation. Taehyuk was being sincere and trying to help him, so he might as well take it.
"Got it," He mumbled before adding a quieter thank you.
"You're welcome. Now come out for dinner before your mother gets suspicious." Taehyuk left the room with Hyunjin following close behind.
They sat in the same formation as in the interrogation, but for some reason, Hyunjin didn't have the energy to care about the two adults staring him down as he ate. His eyes glazed over more with every spoonful of curry he put in his mouth, his mind wandering to Felix and how he wished he could be in their blanket fort right now. His spoon unknowingly stopped midair as his head began to sway and his breathing slowed down. His hand relaxed and the spoon fell on the table, making Hyunjin jump out of his drowsy trance.
His mother gazed at him in concern.
"Baby, here." She stuck the spoon in the bowl and pulled it all towards her. "I'll take care of this. You just go to sleep."
Hyunjin didn't protest and staggered back to his bedroom, his hand grazing the wall and other surfaces to make sure he didn't fall over. He gripped the doorframe and let his eyes wander to his bed before they closed altogether. He bent over, hands out in front of him as he took the last few steps to mental freedom.
Feeling the fuzz of his blanket, Hyunjin crawled onto the bed, pulled the covers around him, and curled into a ball. His mind ran for a few minutes, but it didn't take long for the void to overcome him as he drifted out of reality into a utopia of beauty and peace.
He smiled.
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I get to write a bus scene next people!!! Those are the best!!!