dandelion ➳ 박성훈

𝐄𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐓𝐄𝐄𝐍: behind the scenes

chapter eighteen

꒰☁️꒱

⦩ t/w: verbal & physical abuse ⦨

"sunghoon, come down for a minute." his mom called from the living room, making the boy jerk up from laying on his bed for an hour straight. with brows furrowed, the boy did as told, wore his black hoodie and walked down the stairs.

there, he was met with the woman's teary eyes. panicking at the sight, he ran up to her with hands trembling and shaky breath. "mom, what─"

"run." she whispered, as his brows met each other in confusion. "why would I run? what happened, tell me─"

"son, save yourself." she said, her tone getting harsher yet still laid with deep caring and affection for her son. the boy was beyond confused, yet hearing heavy steps approaching the two, he knew that there was no way he'd be running away, however much he'd like to.

"oh, so that shit of a son is home for once? thought you were still outside, being the fuck boy you like being." the voice of the man who he once liked to call 'dad' echoed around the room, as chills ran down his spine.

"don't call your own son that!" the woman attempted to speak up, yet her husband's cold hand slamming across her face stopped her words. sunghoon jerked up, slapping the man across the face and pushing him to the ground.

"don't you dare lay a hand on her ever again!" he shouted, as he stood up, his eyes sparking up with a new wave of hatred towards the boy, the cracking of his knuckles making the younger man harshly gulp.

"who gave you the permission to push your own dad like that?" "you are not my dad, I can't adress 'dad' someone who abuses my mom and me every fucking day!"

"so you see that as an abuse?" "your drunk as fuck ass can't see it but you hurt us every single day!" another slap that made the woman leave a gasp of surprise, observing the way her son fell on the ground with hands wrapped around his head.

"shut it you little shit! I gave all I had to you and your skating contest and is this how you thank me? such a brat! I knew it from the day you were born, that you'll be such a trouble in our life, but you─" his finger pointed to the shocked woman "─you insisted in keeping him!"

"you were different, but everything changed after yeji died!" upon the sudden brought up, silence fell through the room, mixed emotions brought up as the man's eyes threw fire.

"you were so lovely, a true dad figure and my own role model, but once my sister died, you fucking changed into a monster! how do you want me and mom to love you, when you are like this?"

"shut the fuck up or else you and that slut will be spending the day outside this house!" he pointed at the door, as the boy grabbed the trembling hand of his mother and helped her up.

"better than staying in this living hell! and don't you dare call her slut, your ass is literally the one going out there and fucking every woman being that you hook up with!"

"sunghoon, stop!" his mother yelled in a try to protect him, yet the boy was far from ranged, feeling unjustified by the way things have turned out. with brave and hasty steps, he walked up to his dad and started punching him.

the man tried to cover his face in a try to dodge any punch, but he was drunk to bits and could barely make what the next move would be. sunghoon on the other hand, kept throwing fists at whatever place he considered weak, in order to knock him down and give them time to run away.

"dear, please stop!" the woman tried to calm his nerves down, as the boy did as told, standing up and grabbing her hand. "let's go." he said, dragging her out of the house with the screams of the man giving him chills.

slamming the door behind them, they run with all their might towards the car, his mom starting off the engine and stepping on the accelerator with all the force left in her.

sunghoon eyed the door of their once warm household, watching it open as the man stood on the small balcony and briefly searched the place, seeing the car reaching the main road and raising his fist.

the young boy didn't quite get what he had screamed at that moment, but he was a hundred percent sure it was only curses and swear words his young self had gotten used to for the past four years.

"mom, slow down." he calmly reached for her hand to soothe her troubled self down, her doing as told. with her hands trembling, she pulled over at a place where no human soul could be seen, turning to look at her son.

"hoon." she choked on a sob, yet she tried to compose herself up and speak truthfully. "what you did...you could get severely hurt my baby." spelling those words out, sunghoon felt his eyes brimming with tears once again.

"better risk my life than yours. my mom is the only one to deserve the best in this world." he said, hugging the quivering woman tightly enough, wanting to ensure her that he'll be there for her, whenever she was in need of a shoulder to lean on.

"what would I do if I didn't have you, my baby." she whispered, kissing the top of his head with her words getting muffled. sunghoon's lips twitched up in a small smile, trembling with his hands tightly holding onto the cloth of her jacket, as he felt blessed for he at least has a normal mom.

that night, he let his tears fall freely for once, everything that he's been keeping for years now, counting from his torturing days as a student of the south coast high school.

"I'll be spending the night in the car I guess. you can sleep over at your friend's, hmm?" she combed his hair back, him shaking his head in clear disapproval. "there's no way this is gonna happen."

"here, you sleep at the back, I sleep in the driver's seat. take my jacket and cover yourself up, and make sure the window ain't open." he got out of the car and opened one of the back doors, the woman following suit as she got in.

"good night mom, sleep tight." with a kiss being placed on her temple, the woman drifted off to a deep yet much troubled sleep, as the boy didn't even bother to blink once.

for he had a fear of the devilish man prying in the dark, and for his mind being busy with the thought of how worse could his life turn out to be.