snowy skies - hwang hyunjin

chapter 2 - family feud but less fun and not a game show

Now, it was time to go home and face my family. 

_______

The chilly walk home was a lot shorter than I wanted it to be. If possible, I want the walk to be forever, or at least as long as it would take for me to grow up and move out at age 18, which would be a year from now. 

Unfortunately for me, the walk was only 20 minutes. 

I approach my house, thinking about how I could run away and never come back. My parents would never search for me anyways. 

But still, I quietly unlock that goddamn bright red door, and tiptoe inside, hoping I wouldn't be heard. Luckily, my mom is on the couch loudly watching TV, and my dad in nowhere to be found, probably at a bar or something. 

I walk upstairs, making no noise but a small squeak as I step on a beer bottle, nearly tripping myself. Of course, I have to clean up after my addict parents, it's not unusual for these to be lying around. 

I open and close my bedroom door, and sit on my creaky bed, letting out a sigh of relief. My mom didn't seem to notice my arrival, actually, it's unlikely she was aware I had been gone. It's so weird to be excited for school the following day, but any excuse to leave my house is a good excuse. 

See, 10 years ago, my mom got pregnant with a second child. Everything was going great, we were a happy family. We had money and love and even a dog, they cared about me and I really, truly, loved them. 

Then of course, my mom suffered a miscarriage. She became depressed, and who can blame her? We had put aside so many things for my baby sister, even a whole room and a name, but she was born dead. Of course my mom was going to be sad. 

But she never recovered. 

So she became less and less social, and more and more distant. This caused me and my dad a lot of stress, and my dad couldn't handle it all. So he became a drunk, he would always come home with a smell of alcohol on his breath and a big temper. 

It had been 1 year since the miscarriage, and my whole life had fallen apart. 1 year was all it took for my mom to stop speaking, for my dad to become a drunk,abusive asshole. He would hit me and mom, but mom never reacted, so she was spared. 

Then with my luck, I got the worst of it. Every goddamn night, mom would be on the couch, dad would come home and nearly throw me against the walls, once he even tried to drown me. 

Felix, god, poor Felix. He was the only one who knew of my situation, the only one who could comfort me. I put it all on him, and I feel so, so bad, but without him I literally wouldn't be alive. He shared my burden, lifted a little of the pain off my shoulders. 

So now, 10 years later, I sit in my room, all alone, not even a parent can comfort me when my parents are the cause of my problems. I open my phone, it's 5pm, my dad won't be home for a while. I decide to take a nap before I have to deal with him. 

______

"Minjae!!!" I hear a chirpy voice right next to me. "Wake up, pabo!" It's Felix, thank god. Did I sleep the whole night? I don't remember my dad coming home, he may have never been home in the first place. I don't feel any new bruises, anyways. 

"It's 7am, get your ass up." Felix fakes annoyance, and his bright smile takes over again. I get up, stopping to straighten my hair and school skirt. Still drowsy, I take my glasses from by bedside table, and no sooner does Felix grab my wrist and nearly drag me down the stairs. 

Not to my surprise, my mom is asleep on the couch, and my dad is nowhere to be seen. Honestly, good for him, and good for me and Felix. 

We rush out the door and into the street, where it strikes me that I never bothered to grab a jacket. 

"Felix, can we go back? I'm cold, I want my jacket." 

"Yeah, hurry up though!" He calls, I'm already racing down the street. 

I pull open the door, momentarily forgetting my family situation, and I hear my dad's voice yelling from the kitchen. 

"Minjae, is that you?" he bellows, I can almost smell the alcohol from here. Shit, how did he get home so fast? Did I miss him on my way out? No, I can't think about this right now. I need to get my coat and run out of here. It's laying just 5 feet away, this should be easy enough. 

I jump over and snatch it from the rack, but the hood gets caught on the hook. Great, I must be the luckiest girl in the world. 

I tug on it for a few seconds until it finally gets free, but not fast enough for my dad to travel across our small house. He's running , knocking over a stack of papers on the way. 

I grab my jacket and turn on my heel, faster than light. Clearly not fast enough, because I feel my collar being pulled back sharply and hot breath on my neck. I wince, almost gagging at the smell. 

He's choking me. I don't have time for this, I need to be at school in 20 minutes, it's a 10 minute walk, sometimes 15. I can barely breathe, my shirt collar is being pulled against my throat by my father. 

"Where. The fuck. Were. You?!" He yells in my ear, and I fall back, hurting me even more. 

"I was going.. going to school-" I say, gasping for air. "I came back be-because I needed my coat, it-it's freezing." 

"Well then, fuck off!" He screams, letting me go, and in the process I fall against the door. It's not closed all the way, and I fall through it as it opens, nearly into Felix's arms. My dad scoffs and walks off, downing his bottle as the door closes. 

"My god Minjae, you okay?" Felix asks, concern in his eyes as I massage my neck and fix my shirt. 

"Yeah, I'm okay. Let's go to school, 'kay?" I say, my words are short and snappy. I don't mean to lash out, but I can't control it at this point. Felix understands, this isn't a rare occurrence. My only fear right now is that there might be a red mark on my collar..

Soon enough, we arrive at the school gates, with 5 minutes to spare. Felix and I make it into class, and in seconds the bell rings. The teacher, Ms. Han, gives us a glare which is copied by the students. I don't mind, it's not like this is the worst I face. 

"Class, I have an announcement. " Ms. Han states, standing at the front of the class. "We have a new student."

There's a chorus of gasps from around the classroom, this never happens. Who might it be?

"You may come in now." Ms. Han calls, and a handsome figure walks through the door. The class collectively gasps, his features are nearly perfect. He's tall, his figure is intimidating. Not bulky, but more graceful, he looks like a dancer. 

His face is gorgeous, too. He has thick, full lips, and his eyes are a nice shape, somewhere in between almond-shaped and small crescents. His face is nearly perfect, with the exception of a small mole underneath his left eye, which I find rather cute. 

Let's face it, the whole class is whipped for him. He's the type to bewitch all the girls, to turn the boys gay. His hair is a silky black, a bit long, so it's floppy, I bet all the girls are imagining it between their fingers. 

"Hello, nice to meet you." The boy gives a small bow. "My name is Hwang Hyunjin."