Choosing to Care

Chapter 1

Donald Na sat in the hospital room. He had begged, and he had screamed, and he had pleaded for his mother to survive, but it was all futile in the end. His mother's body had already been incredibly weakened from the physical abuse from her husband, but it had become even more weak due to the wounds getting infected. Unfortunately, by the time she got treatment, the infection had spread far too deep.

He wanted to yell and curse the world, but his body remained unmoving. His eyes, now a dull void, stared emptily at his mother's corpse. Both of his small hands still clutched his mother's left hand tightly. Her body no longer held any warmth. He would no longer be able to hear her voice, and he would no longer be able to feel her hugs.

He wished that it was all a nightmare, and then he'll eventually wake up from it to see his mother still alive. He would wake up to her gently running a hand through his hair and singing a lullaby softly. She would be sitting up in her hospital bed and smiling at him. She would make a full recovery, and the two of them would be able to leave and live a free and happy life without her abusive husband.

The two of them would move to a new area for a fresh start. Donald would attend a new elementary school; this time, he would be able to make new friends and wouldn't be bullied. The school admin wouldn't be corrupt. Sua would be able to get a job, and money would never be a problem for them again. They would both have new clean clothes and Donald would have new school supplies. They would always have a warm bed to sleep in and bellies full of yummy foods. Neither of them would have any wounds from being beaten up.

Sadly, it was all a pipe dream; it was completely unachievable and his wishes would never be fulfilled. His mother was no longer alive; she now lay in front of him as a lifeless corpse. All of the machines hooked up to her had been turned off after the doctor had confirmed her death and transported her to the morgue after no one showed up the day she had died.

She had been left in the morgue for two whole days.

Donald hadn't been able to be by her side on the day she died because of his piece of shit teacher. His teacher knew that his mother had died two days ago. His stepfather had run off with the life insurance money and wouldn't be answering calls, so the hospital would've informed the next point of contact, his homeroom teacher!

The doctor and nurses had given their condolences to the poor child and had left the room to give Donald some space and to allow the boy to mourn without witnesses.

Someone knocked at the door, but Donald refused to acknowledge them. Nonetheless, the door opened, and a woman dressed in a suit walked over to his side. "Donald Na?" When she didn't receive a response, she continued, "I'm your social worker, Nathalie Kim. Due to your stepfather fleeing and your mother's passing, we attempted to contact your next of kin, but found none. Therefore, you will be placed in a foster family that had agreed to take you in on such short notice."

A social worker? Don't make me laugh. Why wasn't a social worker called when I came to school in torn ragged clothes? Why wasn't a social worker called when I came to school covered in various bruises, cuts, and scrapes? Why wasn't a social worker called when I was obviously much smaller than my classmates, too skinny for someone my age, and malnourished? Why didn't a social worker show up back then, when my mother was still alive?

Donald knew that the social worker didn't actually care about him. He knew that she was being paid to care, so it wasn't genuine care; she was just doing her job so she would get paid. 

His own biological father didn't care about him and had abandoned him and his mother after realizing how much work raising a child was. The only thing Donald inherited from him was his family name, Na. 

His stepfather—that piece of shit doesn't even deserve that title because he wasn't a father who stepped up—had fooled Sua into marrying him by pretending to be nice to her and Donald. Once he had also fooled Sua into signing up for life insurance, stepbitch dropped his façade and began his abuse. 

All of the teachers and admin at Yeowon Elementary School didn't care. All of them—including the teachers whose class he didn't attend—had seen how he was always malnourished and covered in wounds. They'd have to be deaf and blind to have not noticed the bullying happening on school grounds. 

All of the doctors and nurses in the hospital didn't care. He had shown up malnourished and wounded, but no one batted an eye. The abused child of a patient was not their problem.

Donald knew that no one cared about him; the only person that had actually cared about his wellbeing was lying dead right in front of him. 

Now, he had no one left. Now, he was completely alone.

He didn't know how his body stood up and followed the social worker to her car. He felt so empty and he knew he had no desire to follow her. It felt as if he wasn't in control of his body, and it felt as if he wasn't even in his body. It was as if he were watching from a third person perspective. His movements were mechanical and hollow, like an emotionless machine.

~Choosing to Care~

The drive to the foster family took quite a while, and they drove many miles into the countryside. Donald sat in the backseat with his eyes dully staring at his hands, ignoring the views passing by outside his window. If his mother were alive and with him, he would have stared outside with awe and spoken to his mother about the new sights.

Nathalie pulled into the driveway of a farmhouse, and the two were greeted by the family of three. 

The father of the family was lean, yet muscular from years of farm work. He had dark brown curly hair and sharp black eyes.

The mother had dirt blonde hair styled into a braid and bright red eyes. 

The third person was a girl in her high school years with blonde hair and black eyes.

Donald Na already knew that he did not like this family one bit.

~Choosing to Care~

Author's Note: I had started writing this in July 2023, which was before Donald's backstory was revealed. I rewrote some parts to match canon.