Quiet | Seungjin

23

"Hi," Mrs Kim smiled as Seungmin sat down next to her at the dining room table. She looked up from the computer in front of her, giving the boy her full attention.

Seungmin returned the smile and took a few silent seconds to remember why he was even there in the first place. With a small hum, he asked, "can I...go to Hyunjin's after school...tomorrow?"

"His house?" She asked almost too frantically. The woman quickly cleared her throat and clarified softer this time, "you want to go over to Hyunjin's house?"

An excited smile spread across Seungmin's face before he nodded.

"I think it's great that you want to go to his house—but I'm going to need to talk to one of his parents first. Preferably his mother?"

"The lady at therapy."

Eyebrows furrowing in confusion, the woman sent her son a strange look as she tried to understand his words. "What lady at therapy? Your therapist?"

Seungmin shook his head and simply whispered, "receptionist."

Although Mrs Kim wasn't quite sure what Seungmin was trying to tell her at first, she took a few moments to decipher his words. "Oh," she sighed at last, "Mrs Hwang is Hyunjin's mom? The receptionist at the clinic?" When she saw the boy nod, she let out another small hum and mumbled, "I'll call her in the morning while you're at school then—that makes things easy."

✨✨✨

"Hello Mrs Kim~" the receptionist sang into the phone as she answered the call, having memorized the number from the countless years of working with Seungmin and his family, "what can I help you with this afternoon?"

"I actually called to talk to you, Mrs Hwang, if that's alright," the woman responded softly.

"Oh—of course that's alright, what do you need to talk about?"

A small laugh echoed through the line as Mrs Kim tried to collect her thoughts. "So my son and your son are really good friends—did you know that?"

"Oh I hear about Seungmin all the time at home, my Hyunjin just adores him."

"I know this sounds crazy for me to worry about—but he asked to go over to your house to hang out with Hyunjin after school tomorrow. Before I let him, I just wanted to talk to you."

Mrs Hwang hummed into the phone as she rested her elbow on her desk, invested in the conversation. "Hyunjin asked me a couple nights ago—I didn't think much of it—but anything you want to know...go ahead and ask."

"Will you be there?"

"Yes."

"Your husband?"

"He travels for work...he isn't even in this city."

Taking a deep breath, Seungmin's mother tried her hardest to breath out all of her worries. "Would it be alright if I told you a little about him? It would make me feel a lot more at ease if something were to happen when I wasn't there."

"Anything you need, Mrs Kim."

"Binna," the woman blurted out, "You can call me Binna."

"My name's Yujun."

Now that she felt a bit more relaxed, she slumped into the table in front of her and started talking. "When Seungmin was young, he was...assaulted. I think you already know he has trouble communicating but there are times when he has...what his therapist calls an episode. Different things trigger him depending on the day, it's not easy to predict, but he can get to a point where he isn't aware of his surroundings. If that were to happen at your house, I know Hyunjin has already helped him before, but the best thing is to just keep talking. I know I probably sound horribly paranoid, but I'd like to give you my address and my husbands phone number just in case."

"Binna," Mrs Hwang started gently, the name rolling off her tongue as if she'd spoken it a hundred times over, "as a parent, you can never worry enough for your child. I really appreciate you telling me this, I want Seungmin to be as comfortable as possible in my home."

"Your boy...he's really special. He brings out something in Seungmin that I thought I'd never see again."

✨✨✨

Seungmin's eyes were fixed on his phone screen as he read over a text message from his mother telling him that his father was actually coming to pick him up from school after getting out of work early. He lingered on the screen for a few seconds longer until a second message appeared. Tapping on Hyunjin's shoulder, he pushed his phone towards the boy.

A smile broke out across Hyunjin's face as he read out loud, "Just talked to Hyunjin's mom, all good for tomorrow—oh I'm so excited, Seungmin, you're coming to my house!"

Seungmin nodded, a smile of own tugging at the corner of his lips. The two kept waking side by side until they found themselves in the parking lot, Seungmin's dad not yet parked in one of the spots.

"I'll wait with you," Hyunjin suggested as he pointed to an old, unoccupied bench.

Quickly shaking his head, Seungmin put his hands gently on the boy's shoulders and pushed him towards the parking lot where his own car was parked.

"I don't mind," urged the elder before sitting down, happily patting the empty spot next to him.

Although he felt a little guilty that Hyunjin was staying behind just for him, he still sat down, hands folded neatly in his lap.

"Do you want to do anything specific tomorrow?" Hyunjin asked. When he saw Seungmin shake his head, he continued, "well I'm going to show you around for sure—that'll take up some time. Oh I forgot to tell you that I have a dog, you're not allergic are you?"

"I love dogs," he said suddenly.

"I'm sure Kkami will love you, she's just a tiny little dog."

Seungmin let out a soft hum as he listened to Hyunjin's words and laid his head on the elder's shoulder. He was tired from the day, but he didn't mind the chance to spend a little more time talking to Hyunjin because it had become his favorite thing to do.

———
Thanks for reading