Paper cuts & Paper rings | JayWon

02. difference

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Monday mornings were usually quiet – a silent day which was long and peaceful enough to clear up the rest of the week despite the grogginess he felt every get-up. The quaint family of his containing only his parents, his older sister, and himself kept the house quiet and were too busy preparing themselves for the new week instead of setting up gatherings like the residents down the street.

Some days, Jungwon found himself suffocating in the daily monotonous of these boring Monday mornings after school, so he would invite either Sunoo or Riki just to have some company while his parents were too busy with their business and while his sister was still out.

The other students in his class and neighbourhood used this time to go out with their friends and do some not-so-perfect things, mastering to hide their wrongdoings with their perfect grades and their perfect personalities which fooled their parents more than it should have. Sneaking off while it was still silent, the adults were too concerned with preparing for the upcoming week to notice them sleeping with other people and gambling.

But Jungwon never found any thrill or joy in those particular activities.

Unlike the persona or facade his classmates might've fooled him with, he always strived to remain perfect. Jungwon could not bare the idea of disappointing his parents or letting his standers drop just to fit in with his classmates. Maybe their sins and the slight rebellious edge are what made them so perfect in his eyes – they were free and independent but could still look pure and flawless in everyone else's eyes. Jungwon and his friends were more into board games and stupid inside jokes so he wouldn't dare disappoint them as well by straying away from what made their little group special. Not needing to be 'rebellious' to seem perfect to the kids their age as well as the adults.

But today, his parents were not cooped up away in their office but instead too intrigued with the family standing outside their door.

When Jungwon opened the door after finishing his Greek yoghurt, tossed the empty package in the bin, and unlocked the door. He didn't pay much attention to the people, expecting it was just one of the people renting his parents' houses giving their rent or just stopping for lunch, or one of his friends, but instead, it was a family – a family he'd never seen in his neighbourhood or town.

He quickly calls over his parents when a tall woman asks him to call his parents, doubting they would care since they seemed to be engrossed in their work but much to his surprise they came almost immediately. So, while his parents were infatuated with these new foreigners, his attention latched on the same new boy from school leaning against the door frame while their parents were having a conversation in front of the open door. The boy's side profile faces him, tucking his blonde hair out of his face and taking a brief pause from eyeing his sleek black shoes and over at him, his stance exerting some sort of confidence that perks Jungwons curiosity yet again.

That same unsettling nervousness tickles his stomach when their eyes meet for a brief second, coating his throat with sludge which hinders his ability to speak coherently. Jungwon quickly glances away, peering back only to see the boy still staring back at him, making his cheeks grow an embarrassing pink yet again when he smirks meekly at him.

But before this staring game can continue his eyes fall back to his shoes, escaping behind the door as if to run away from him which didn't seem to add up.

Jungwon doesn't notice his inconspicuous smile drop into a frown when he loses sight of him, curiosity bubbling in his tummy which forced his legs to follow after him. He spares a short glance at their parents who seemed to have tucked themselves back into their office, briskly walking out of the open door and after the stranger.