𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐎𝐟 𝐀 𝐌𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐚𝐥 ♡ MinSung

Ch. 126

Walking around with Jeong-Hoon all day was just as bad as anyone would imagine. He never took his attention off of where Jisung was, even if he was doing something else or talking to someone.

The elder was tediously controlling, and nothing Jisung did around him was by his own decision. He wanted to use the bathroom? Jeong-Hoon would stand outside the stall. He wanted to eat anything? Jeong-Hoon would give him a judgmental stare.

Before sitting with the taller, Jisung at least sometimes ate something, but while with him it always made him feel ashamed. Jeong-Hoon made him feel like the more food he ate, the less value he had.

Jisung was glad when Jeongin pulled him aside to check on him, even though he had said not to. Jeongin asked if he was okay, or if he got hurt, or if he wanted a ride home.

Jisung declined all this of course. Jeongin wasn't allowed to be talking to him. If Jeongin got involved with all this he could get hurt, and that's not something Jisung wanted to see.

He currently wasn't talking to any of them very much these days. They still all sent texts he couldn't bring himself to respond to because he would feel so terrible if he blocked them.

He didn't dislike them, he loved them really, but he knew that Jeong-Hoon was right. He had told him to distance himself from other people outside of school.

His reasoning was 'if I can't see you, how am I supposed to help you? People like those 'friends' of yours could hurt you, Jiji. It's all about the learning process'.

Jisung knew that they would never hurt him, and he spoke on that, but Jeong-Hoon was quick to anger so he never let out a peep on the situation any further.

He simply listened.

He was still talking to Felix, as he physically couldn't just let one of his texts sit to be answered, but not very much. He figured of Felix had caught on he wasn't saying anything.

Minho probably had guesses as to why Jisung wouldn't speak to them, but they would all have to stay guesses. No matter how many sweet texts Minho sent, Jisung couldn't answer them.

What if Jeong-Hoon saw their interactions? They would both be in so much trouble, not to mention the court case would be compromised.

Jisung looked up at his father sitting across from his at the table, but he didn't feel hungry. He just picked at his food and moved it around on his plate. Everytime he ever looked at food it made him feel ugly.

"Are you feeling sick?" His dad yanked him out of his thoughts, clicking his silverware against the plate. Dinner lately had been super tense.

"Oh, uhm.. yeah. A little bit." He figured maybe this would be his excuse.

"You must have caught a bug or something."  The conversation seemed to end there, Jisung only looking down at his now cold food but not really giving a response.

"How was school?" A desperate attempt at keeping the conversation going by his father. It was a pretty stupid question. How did he think school was going?

Jisung shrugged, "Could have been better."

"So no run-ins with Jeong-Hoon?"

"I wouldn't say that. There was a few times." He didn't know why he didn't just tell him about the new control thing.

"What about Minho?"

"What about him." Jisung didn't really like where this was going, but there was nothing his could do. 

"Did you see him today? Did you talk to him? Did he talk to you?" Now he actually seemed interested in the conversation. Was banishing Minho all he cared about?

"I saw him but we didn't talk. I seriously don't see why I shouldn't be allowed—"

"I'm not having this fight with you again." The man cut him off as soon as the sentence left his mouth. "I don't like him."

"But I do." Jisung said lowly, still messing around with the food on his fork.

"It's not about what you like. Your young and dumb so you don't know what's good for you. You're just stuck on his good looks. That's all."

Jisung huffed lightly, not saying another word in Minho's defense. He knew this was a losing battle.

The silence was quite heavy as both of them more or less just sat there, Jisung still not putting a single bite in his mouth. Now he was actually starting to feel sick to his stomach.

The man across the table sighed, "I'm sorry of you think I'm being unfair, Jisung. It's been a wild time and I'm only doing my best best protect you. You probably hate how clingy I've been, and how obsessed I seem to be with you life."

"Mm." Was the short, unsatisfied, answer that he received.

Yet he kept talking, "Someday, trust me, you'll thank me for helping you out like this. I've been through some stuff and I know more about this than you. All I ask is that you hear me out on this one. You like Minho, but he doesn't like you. All he likes is the things you give him."

"Like? What do I give him? As far as I'm concerned he's done nothing but give to me since a few months ago."

"Trying to fight me on the things I know best on is not going to help you. This is a waste of time."

"You know what's a waste of time? Incriminating Jeong-Hoon. He's going to America anyway so it's a waste of the little energy and will I have left." He wasn't mad, but he made a point.

"Thats not a waste of time. He deserves to rot in a prison cell for the rest of his life. I'm disappointed they can't put him on death row." He muttered the last part under his breath, but Jisung heard it.

What if sending Jeong-Hoon to jail was the wrong thing to do? He was trying to help Jisung after all right..?

Jisung got up from the table abruptly, "I'm not hungry." He said coldly before leaving his dad alone.

Not only was Jisung's life a mess, but so was his 'family'.