|Weak Hero| D-TecnoLife

Chapter 1

It had been five months since Gray had first gone missing. It had been two months since Donald had rescued Gray. It had been a month since Gray had reunited with his friends and mother.

Gray was still reluctant to meet with his friends in person, even if they suggested somewhere like a park. He knew that if he were to go outside, there'd be so many stares. They most likely wouldn't be the only ones at the park and Gray did not like the attention people would give him. Instead, he kept in contact with them through texts, phone calls, and video calls.

Gray's mother finally had time off and wanted to meet up with her son, if Gray was feeling up to it. 

"Donald...do you think I should see my mother?" Gray asked.

"It's not about whether you should, but what you want," Donald told him. "You don't feel too comfortable being with your friends in person yet, so I wouldn't force yourself to have a face-to-face meeting with your mother if you're also uncomfortable with an in person meeting with her,"

"But...she's my mom..." Gray hugged Jawbreaker. 

"Just because someone is family doesn't mean you should do anything you don't want to for them," Donald pointed out.

"She's done so much for me...and I've..." He clenched his eyes shut, recalling some of his middle school memories. "I've only caused her problems...I've only caused her to worry about me..."

"She worries because she cares about you," Donald said. "It's a parent's responsibility to look after their child's wellbeing,"

"I managed to talk to my friends in person at the hospital garden," Gray said. "But after coming home...I can't muster up that courage again. It feels like...like I'm regressing instead of progressing,"

"The road to recovery isn't only a single uphill slope," Donald gently ran a hand through Gray's hair to comfort him. "There are times where we make great progress and times when we fall back down. There are times when sometimes we feel hopeless, but what matters is never giving up,"

"I still don't...I don't know..." Gray whispered. "I don't know..."

"You have the entire night to think about it," Donald told him. "She'll understand if you're not ready for in person meetings,"

XXX

"Remember, if at any point you change your mind and don't want to speak to her in person, you can tell me," Donald told Gray as the latter sat down in the table in the backyard. It was more open than inside the house but they wouldn't be too exposed to prying eyes unless someone peeked into Donald's backyard.

Speaking of which, the Eungang were very obviously peeking over the fence and into Donald's backyard to where Gray was.

'At least they're respecting Gray's personal space,' Donald forced himself to think on the bright side to avoid attacking them. He placed a box of tissues on the table, knowing that there would be plenty of tears.

Mom Yeon arrived and sat across from Gray. She teared up when she saw her son doing much better than last time. "Gray..."

Gray's lip quivered. "M..." He struggled to get the word out. "M...Mom..."

"I'm sorry," Mom Yeon apologized. "I'm so sorry, Gray...I'm so sorry I wasn't there for you...I-I-I'm your mother and...and I failed to protect you. I'm so sorry, Gray!"

Both mother and son sobbed. As much as Mom Yeon wanted to embrace her son in a warm hug,  to confirm that he really was here with her, she knew she couldn't because of Gray's aversion to physical contact.

"I'm sorry I haven't been able to visit you more often. I...I'm so busy and work but you're more important than work but I need the money for the the house bills and the hospital bills and..." 

Gray wanted to speak, but no words came out. He wanted to tell his mother that she had nothing to be sorry for, but his voice remained stuck in his throat.

"The notes app on your phone," Donald told him. "If you're unable to speak, you can still type what you want to say to her,"

Gray nodded and took out his phone. He shakily typed out his thoughts and then showed them to his mother. "You have nothing to be sorry for. You can't just quit your job. Money is a necessity,"

Mom Yeon wiped her tears away with the provided tissues. "I'm a horrible mother...You're the one that's hurting and...and you're comforting me right now,"

"I'm sorry for being a burden,"

Mom Yeon's eyes widened upon reading those words. "Gray...honey, you're not a burden! Why would you think that?"

"Because you are always getting troubled because of me. When I became depressed after Stephen...you became worried about me. After I got revenge, you faced backlash from the community for having a 'violent' son. Because only Eunjang accepted me as a student, you had to pay for my apartment here too. And now...you're extremely stressed and tired because of what happened to me,"

"Gray," Mom Yeon told him firmly. "You're not a burden. None of that was your fault,"

'Who's Stephen Ahn?' Donald thought to himself.

"Of course you were saddened by your friend's incident. You lost your first and only friend at the time," Mom Yeon spoke gently. "I know how much he meant to you. I was worried about you always being alone, but was relieved when I saw that you finally made a friend and he made you smile so brightly. You were extremely close to him so of course you'd also be hurt after he..."

"And my reputation didn't face too much backlash because a lot of other parents know that Oscar Yang bribes the school to let his son get away with bullying other students," Mom Yeon continued. "Don't worry about the apartment rent. I preferred you being here as opposed to staying Gangnam where you are more likely to encounter those bullies again. After you disappeared...I collected your things and brought them back to my house if you need anything,"

"Yes, I am stressed and tired," Mom Yeon said. "But it's not your fault. You didn't want to be kidnapped. It's those monsters' fault, not yours. You're an innocent victim in all of this. Please don't ever think of yourself as a burden, Gray. You're not a burden and you will never be one,"

Gray covered his face with his hands and cried loudly, letting all of his welled up emotions out. 

This was a much needed talk between mother and son.

The story's title is a reference to Bleach's Second Opening Theme.