look after you | hyunin

xi

cw // mentions of substance abuse (only being brought up! no actual scenes of it i promise)

tw // abusive parents

𓈒⠀𓂃⠀⠀˖⠀𓇬⠀˖⠀⠀𓂃⠀𓈒

jeongin fidgets with his fingers once him and principal choi approach the man's office door.

he can't help the eerie feeling that's been consuming him ever since the man approached him.

the boy turns out to be right about having an off feeling. once he steps into the office with the principal, his heart drops to his stomach and his face goes pale.

there sits his parents with smug smiles on their faces. he hasn't seen in just over two months. jeongin's mind goes blank. why are they here? why can't he finally have his moments of peace?

"i was informed by your parents here that you haven't been home for two months."

"th- this isn't a school matter," jeongin says as he sits uncomfortably in between the pair. "i- i come to school, right? no one should be worried, everything's okay."

"where have you been staying? we haven't seen you since you ran away," mrs. yang puts on an innocent act. she manages to mess with jeongin's head even more.

"you ran away?" principal choi interjects.

"i d-"

"we've been looking all over for you," mr. yang adds in yet another piece to him and his wife's made up story. "we talked to the police, they were looking for you-"

"if any of this was true, you would have found me sooner," jeongin snaps. "just admit the truth."

"but this is the truth!" his mother exclaims. she forces the boy to make eye contact with her by lifting his head up by his chin with her finger. "you left us. we missed you, baby. you blocked our social medias and numbers. we had no way of finding you."

the look in the woman's eyes makes jeongin want to leave the room immediately. there's this unsettling twinkle in them. the look tells him that if he continues to retaliate against their story, he'll pay the consequences.

honestly? jeongin doesn't care. he's grown tired of lying and being treated like this.

"you didn't miss me. you missed having control of me," jeongin says. his anger builds up, causing him to push the woman's hand away. 

"i don't really understand the situation at hand," principal choi frowns. "mr. and mrs. yang, could you explain further?"

jeongin's parents open their mouths to speak with daggers in their eyes before their son successfully interrupts them.

"can they explain?" jeongin scoffs. "you want them to feed you more lies? fine, let them. they sure won't tell you what actually happened."

"jeongin! son! let principal choi guide this meeting," his father says with a fake nice tone. the man's eyes burn with fury as he eyes his son. "we got into a bit of a misunderstanding and he ran away-"

"that isn't what fucking happened!!"

jeongin finally blows up. he won't allow them to lie like this. he doesn't think of what would happen if he tells his damn principal about his parents' neglectful tactics. he doesn't care. he just needs to tell someone who isn't hyunjin.

the boy looks his principal right in the eyes and tells him everything.

"it started with me wanting us to have a normal family meal. i was yelled at for 'talking back'," jeongin begins. "i was fed up with the way they treat me. every little thing. the drugs, the abandonment, the alcohol, the complete careless behavior towards their own son. i told them how i felt.