MY SUNSHINE stray kids

1 - space song

When Kyosun was young, he often saw things he thought no one else noticed.

He would wake up early in the mornings, slipping out of bed while the world was still asleep, to watch the sun rise over the horizon. As the first light of dawn kissed the earth, he would see how the golden rays reflected off the drops of dew that clung to the delicate petals of flowers. The dew sparkled like tiny diamonds, each drop holding a world of its own, suspended in a perfect moment of beauty. Kyosun would crouch down, eyes wide with wonder, captivated by how something so small could be so breathtaking.

At night, he would sit by the window, watching as the moon slowly ascended into the sky, her gentle light washing over the earth like a tender caress. To him, the moon was more than just a celestial body. She was a mother, proud and nurturing, who smiled down at the earth as if it were her child, taking its first steps. The way her light bathed the world in silver made everything seem softer, gentler, and Kyosun felt a sense of peace in those quiet, moonlit moments.

He also noticed the little things in people - the way their eyes would sparkle when they talked about something or someone they loved, the way a genuine smile would light up their entire face, or how their body language would change when they were truly happy. These were the things that made life feel vibrant and full of meaning to him.

For a brief and precious time, he shared this with his younger brother, In-su. They would sit together in the early mornings, or late at night, pointing out these little details to each other, their bond deepening with each shared discovery. It was their secret world, a place where they both found solace and joy, away from the chaos of their constantly changing surroundings. The world may have been transient and unstable, but as long as they had each other, they felt rooted, connected.

The two brothers had always struggled in the 'friends' department. They moved around a lot due to their father's job, never staying in one place long enough to form lasting friendships. But it never really mattered to them because they had each other. They were each other's best friend, confidant, and partner in crime. But then came the day Kyosun graduated from primary school and moved up to high school. It was a transition that, unbeknownst to him at the time, would mark the beginning of a long, painful decline.

High school was nothing like what he had imagined. The whispers started first, soft and insidious, spreading through the halls like a virus. Kyosun could feel eyes on him wherever he went, could hear the murmurs of 'the mute kid' as he walked past groups of students. The isolation was suffocating. He had no one to talk to, not because he didn't want to, but because he was too scared to reach out. The fear of rejection, of ridicule, kept him silent.

And then the whispers turned into something more. The shoves in the hallways started as minor inconveniences, but they quickly escalated into something far more sinister. Before he knew it, he was being cornered by groups of older boys during lunch and after school, their taunts turning into punches, kicks, and bruises that he could never fully hide. The pain was constant, but it wasn't just the physical pain that hurt—it was the loneliness, the despair of knowing that no one was coming to save him.

Kyosun didn't blame his mother. She had been threatened into silence, forced to look the other way as her son came home with fresh injuries each day. His father? Well, his father never did anything about it. Whether he was too busy, too indifferent, or simply didn't care, Kyosun never knew. And it didn't really matter. The result was the same: no one at school, at home, or anywhere else seemed to notice—or care—how he was slowly becoming a shell of who he used to be.

Gone were the days when he could find beauty in the world. The moon no longer smiled down at the earth; she was just a cold, distant rock in the sky. The sparkle in people's eyes was lost to him, and the light that reflected off the dew drops was nothing more than a play of physics. The world that had once been so full of wonder had become a dark, hostile place.