20Cm

BLUE.

TAEHYUN

"I'm sorry, it's not much this year, Taehyun," his grandmother said in a grim tone, rubbing his shoulder in circles, "Money is tight right now, but maybe next year will be better."

Taehyun nodded, gripping the birthday card in his hand tightly. He glanced down at the card as his grandmother left to go to the kitchen to check on the cake that was baking in the oven. Today was his fifteenth birthday and the February sun was shining brightly through the windows of their small living room. Slowly, Taehyun folded open the birthday card and glanced down at the bill that awaited him. Inside was twenty dollars, a luxury in his household. He stared at the sweet message that his grandmother wrote for him on the card before pocketing the twenty dollar bill and setting the card on the coffee table.

His grandmother no longer worked and instead lived off her retirement income and his late grandfather's military pension. What came in every month wasn't much, but somehow they were able to survive. For over two years now, he lived with his grandmother and his two half-siblings. They had gotten close to eviction a few times, yet somehow, they were lucky enough to just hang on.

"Hyunnie!" His six-year-old half-sister burst through the living room, strawberry icing caking the sides of her mouth. "Save me, Taehyunnie! Seojun says he's going to get me!"

Eunji jumped onto the couch with him, throwing her arms around him tightly and burying her head into his shirt. He wrapped his arms around her, steadying her writhing body on his lap. Taehyun was sure that he would have strawberry icing on his plain white t-shirt by the end of her embrace. He heard a giggle from the other side of the couch and he glanced over, noticing Seojun, his half-brother, running on chubby legs toward them. He had even more strawberry icing smeared on his face. His grandmother had let them lick the remaining package of icing for his cake, likely causing this sugar high.

Seojun grabbed Eunji by the foot as she squealed in his arms before jumping off of his lap and running down the hallway. Seojun followed, bouncing on the balls of his feet. Taehyun smiled slightly before leaning back into the couch cushion. Just as he expected, there was a smear of pink icing on his t-shirt.

Seojun was four years old, and he and Eunji were both born to his mother and his stepdad. They looked almost exactly alike with dark hair and small faces and soft features. On the other hand, Taehyun obviously didn't fit in with them. His large, intimidating eyes and striking features made him stand out. As he grew up, he realized that he didn't inherit a lot of genetic facial features from his mother. Taehyun didn't know who his father was or anything about him. After years of questions, Taehyun finally got his answer one day when his mother told him that it was a one-night stand in a drunken fit. Taehyun decided not to ask questions again and he drove a hole within him to bury his hopes of ever knowing his father.

His mother and stepfather had been in prison for the past two years on neglect, unsafe housing conditions for children, and drug charges. He would never forget the way Eunji clung to him like a monkey as the officers led his mother and stepfather out to the police car in handcuffs. His grandmother had told them on the car ride home that they were going on vacation and that they would be back soon. Eunji continued to question their disappearance and his grandmother gave the same excuse, adding in a hopeful tone that they would be back soon. Eventually, she stopped asking, much to their relief. Soon enough, she might be ready for that conversation.

Before she met his stepfather, his mother worked at a lot of different jobs. They were below the poverty level, depending on government assistance to pay their bills. Back then, his mother at least tried to care for him in all the ways she could. She met his stepfather when he was eight and things started to go downhill from there. They moved into his rundown apartment, which was filthy with grime and stunk of cigarette smoke. Taehyun couldn't count how many times he'd get home from school to find the two of them on the ripped couch with blank expressions on their faces and glazed-over eyes. What Taehyun hated the most about his childhood stayed in that apartment. People would come over, smoke, or inject whatever they could, then tear their apartment to pieces before passing out. Eventually, his stepfather's landlord kicked them out, but that didn't prevent their next cramped place from turning out the exact same way. Eventually, his grandmother got involved following Seojun's birth. He only wished he would've told her about their living conditions sooner. Deep down, he was worried about the repercussions from his stepfather. He was always unpleasant to Taehyun, but he never laid his hands on him physically. For that, Taehyun was at least grateful.