look after you | hyunin

i

cw // toxic household, very brief drug + alcohol mention

hyunjin sighs to himself, bored in his parents' lonely house. his parents are god knows where and none of his friends are available at the moment. they're all either busy with work, assignments, or their significant others.

the high school senior has gotten used to the lonely feeling.

he got so used to being alone in the boring house that he never really expected anything to change.

today, it was going to, but he didn't know that yet.

in order to escape the eerie environment that he's supposed to call his home, hyunjin decides to go outside and take a walk. the sun is about to set, meaning he'll be able to take pretty pictures to show his friends.

hyunjin steps out of the house. with a sigh, he closes the door behind him. his camera is strapped around his neck with his phone and keys in his sweatpants pocket.

he strolls along the sidewalk innocently. he takes snapshots of nature that catch his eye.

little does he know, there's someone in the neighborhood experiencing something not nearly as peaceful as this.

𓈒⠀𓂃⠀⠀˖⠀𓇬⠀˖⠀⠀𓂃⠀𓈒

"yang jeongin, who are you to talk back to your mother like that?"

jeongin cowers in fear in front of his father. he has only been trying to convince his mother to make a real meal for the family for once. he's grown tired of the fast food and ramen. he's become tired of how little his parents care and how draining this household has gotten.

he just wants the parents from his childhood back. the ones that actually tried and weren't always gone, fighting, or high and drunk off their asses.

"i was just saying-"

"you do NOT treat your elders with that type of disrespect!" jeongin's mother scolds him. this causes him to feel even more defeated than before.

he isn't going to put up with this anymore.

"you know what?" jeongin says. he decides to stand his ground once and for all. "i-"

"yang jeongin-"

"no," the high school junior snaps. "i'm finishing what i have to say this time. i'm tired of this," the boy begins. his face is filled with anger and frustration as he stares the woman down. "i'm tired of the coming and going, the 'figure out your own meal', the 'you work too much', the fighting, the drugs, the alcohol, all of it.

"i'm tired of having to beg for you to treat me like your child instead of some random kid you've never even met," jeongin continues, fighting back the tears begging to fall. "i'm fed up with how you treat me, i'm fed up with being told not to take shifts because i need to stay home to clean the house, i'm exhausted with this household.

"this place doesn't feel like home anymore. it stopped feeling like home when i turned seven and neither of you were home for my birthday. you left me with my grandmother who could have given less of a shit about me," he pauses to take a quick breath.

"when did you stop caring about me?" jeongin's voice wavers. his eyes are glossy and empty enough that if anyone but his parents were to look at him, it would break their heart.

he swears he sees his mother's face grow soft for a moment. unfortunately for him, her words say otherwise.

"where did all this nonsense come from?" the woman sneers, chuckling bitterly. "we give you everything! we give you a place to sleep, a roof to live under, and food to eat! since when did you become so ungrateful?"

he shouldn't have expected much. his hopes had been high, thinking that maybe they would understand him for once.

god, how could he be so wrong?

"ungrateful?" jeongin questions weakly. "ungrateful? i've been nothing but grateful for being able have what you've given me! i've done so much for you! i've cleaned the house when you were gone, i've washed the dishes, i've done everyone's laundry, i've organized and cleaned your bedroom, i've done things i wouldn't do as excessively if you treated me like a normal child.

"i try so hard," the boy explains as he does his best to contain his vulnerability. "i try so hard to be the son you've always talked about wanting. i try so hard to be worth something but it's never enough, is it? working night shifts, picking you up from clubs when you're too drunk or high to drive, making meals for you, tucking you into bed? what do you need me to do?

"i just want to be enough for you," jeongin says brokenly, stifling a sob.

the room grows silent apart from jeongin's soft sobs.

"you piece of shit," his father grumbles angrily, breaking the silence. "claiming we never do anything for you, implying we're lazy, implying that we're useless parents.

"if we're so useless, you might as well leave," the man hisses.

"wh- what?" the boy mumbles, sniffling softly.

"he said LEAVE!" his mother screeches, dragging the boy by the ear to the front door. his father holds him back while his mother goes to stuff a small bag with random things in his room. he thrashes in the man's arms, crying and screaming hysterically.

"never come back," the man yells.

with that, his father shoves him out the front door while his mother throws the bag at him. his things knock him onto the sidewalk in front of the house.

jeongin sobs to himself before weakly picking up the bag. he slowly begins to trudge along the sidewalk.

however, a stranger on the sidewalk across the street heard all the commotion. he's now looking at the boy with worry in his eyes.

should i go over there? something is definitely wrong.

without thinking twice, hyunjin runs across the street and halts to a stop in front of the boy.

jeongin looks up at the tall, dark haired boy in shock. he stifles a sob, sniffling and wiping the tears from his cheeks with his sweater paws.

"hi," hyunjin says breathlessly, his expression welcoming and kind.
"you look like you need a friend."

𓈒⠀𓂃⠀⠀˖⠀𓇬⠀˖⠀⠀𓂃⠀𓈒

chapter one and it's already depressing </3

editing ash: we are so back!!!!! i'm glad to be editing this and reuploading after losing soooo much inspo for it :') my inspo is back guys