|Weak Hero| Dawn Na

Chapter 13

"Hyunjin," Donald said slowly. "Repeat what you just said right now,"

"Someone hurt Stephen and Dawn,"

"And Gray?"

"Gray wasn't with them at the time,"

"What happened? Tell me everything you know,"

"Dawn said she and Stephen were walking home after hanging out at Gray's house. They encountered some bullies from school. When they began to beat up Stephen, he told her to run. I found Dawn crying in the streets. She had tried to call Orion to help fend off the bullies, but he never answered his phone,"

Donald's expression darkened. "And where is Orion?"

"I brought Stephen to Dawn's house but Orion wasn't home. I also tried calling him, but he wasn't answering. I'm staying the night with Dawn and Stephen,"

"How are their wounds?" 

"Stephen has several bruises and his nose was bleeding. Fortunately, nothing serious enough to warrant a trip to the hospital. Dawn had a hand-shaped bruise on her wrist when one of the bullies tried to grab her,"

"I'll try to get in contact with my dad," Donald then ended the call and dialed Orion's number. 

"This is Orion Na. Sorry, I can't answer my phone at the moment. Please leave your name, number, and a message and I'll get back to you soon,"

Donald ended the call and redialed.

"This is Orion Na. Sorry, I can't answer my phone at the moment. Please leave your name, number, and a message and I'll get back to you soon,"

'One more time!' Donald dialed Orion's number once more.

"This is Orion Na. Sorry, I can't answer my phone at the—"

"Sorry Donald, my phone was off. What's wrong? I have a lot of missed calls,"

"Where the fuck are you right now?"

"...I can't tell you that,"

"Dawn and Stephen needed you but you weren't there!" Donald snapped. "Why weren't you there for them!? You were the one who told me that you'd protect our family!"

"What...what happened?"

"Some bullies beat up Stephen. Dawn got away and tried calling you, but you weren't there for her!"

"I'm sorry..."

"Don't apologize to me. The ones you owe an apology to are Dawn and Stephen. They're both home right now. Hyunjin's watching over them. He was the one who had found Dawn crying,"

XXX

Orion nearly knocked his front door off its hinges when he got home. "Dawn! Stephen!"

"Orion, shut the fuck up," Hyunjin said. "They're both sleeping," 

"Sorry," Orion apologized.

But he had already woken Dawn up. "Dad?" She rubbed her eyes and once she was a bit more awake, she glared at him. "Where were you?"

"I was busy—"

"I called you multiple times!" Dawn yelled. "I needed your help, Dad! Look at what Oswald and his friends did to Stephen!"

Orion felt even guiltier when he saw Stephen's wounds. "I'm sorry,"

"Where were you!?"

"I'm sorry," Orion looked away. "I was gathering information to bring down City Representative Oscar Yang. I didn't want any distractions so I had turned my phone off,"

"Stephen and I needing help was a distraction?" Dawn grew angrier. 

"No—"

"I'm sorry that we're distractions then!" Dawn stormed into her room and slammed the door.

"Dawn!" Orion cried out. "Dawn, that's not what I meant! Dawn, please! I'm sorry I wasn't there for you and Stephen! I'm sorry!"

"Give her some time and space," Hyunjin advised. "She is angry at you, but she's angriest at herself,"

"She probably blames herself for not being able to protect Stephen," Orion sighed. "The leader of the bullies is the son of Oscar Yang. His influence will prevent the bullies from being punished. That's why I'm trying to bring him down first," He buried his face into his hands. "I'm not cut out to be a parent,"

"Do you love them?"

"Of course I love my kids! And I care about Stephen too!"

"Stop yelling you dumbass," Hyunjin motioned towards Stephen. "He may be unconscious but your yelling might be loud enough to bring him back to conscious. Also, the neighbors might file a noise complaint,"

"Sorry..."

"You're a good dad, Orion," Hyunjin reassured him. "You can't be with them twenty four-seven so these things are bound to happen. What matters is you love them,"

"You should be a therapist," Orion joked, smiling a bit.

"Fuck no," Hyunjin refused. "I'm not going to listen to strangers ramble about their problems. My dream is for my band to be successful,"

XXX

The next morning, breaking news showed Oscar Yang being arrested. He was being charged for crimes such as fraud, embezzlement, and bribery. 

'I managed to bring him down,' Orion thought. 'But that doesn't change the fact that I wasn't there for Dawn and Stephen,'

When Stephen had woken up, he played off his wounds as not a big deal. He even wanted to go to school that day. Dawn didn't speak a word to Orion, not even a greeting.

The two of them got ready and headed to school together. Gray was visibly shocked when he saw them. "Stephen, what happened to your face!?"

"Oh, it's nothing..." Stephen lied.

"Nothing my ass!" Gray demanded. "What happened to you!?" He noticed the bruise on Dawn's wrist. "Dawn, who did that!?"

"Oswald and his gang," Dawn informed. "Bryce was with them. Did you know that he spouted lies about Stephen saying crap about Oswald?"

"Gray...just in case, you stay put if anything happens in the classroom," Stephen told his gray haired friend.

"What do you mean stay put!?" 

Stephen put his hands on Gray's shoulders. "Well, nothing gonna change even if you don't, so I don't want you to get roped into this,"

"Knowing Hyunjin, he told my brother what happened," Dawn said. "You guys know how protective he is,"

"Donald's all the way in Yeongdeungpo while we're in Gangnam," Stephen pointed out. "Plus, he's got school today too,"

"Donald would make sure those that he cares about comes first," Dawn reminded. "Everything else comes second,"

XXX

"This is Byuksan Middle School?" Donald finished up his cigarette before entering the school's campus. "What class are Gray and Stephen in?"

"Class 2-4," Kingsley informed as he followed his boyfriend.

School hadn't started yet so a lot of students were roaming the hallways or the yards. Everyone was confused by the two non-Byuksan students, but were also intimidated by the dark aura they emitted. 

When Donald opened the door, he witnessed Oswald attacking Gray, who had been trying to shield Stephen after the latter had been kicked into some desks.

Gray and Stephen's classroom number is not a mistake. In canon, it was Class 3-4, but in this story, the whole Bryce and Oswald thing happened in their second year of middle school.