SEQUEL TO HOLD ME
"it's only human."
those are words that stick in the minds of eight boys who have found themselves closer than ever because of a year spent at the same college.
minsung, seungin, changhyunlix... and chan :')
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A white ceiling was what Chan saw when he woke up.
He was in his bedroom. He was twelve years old.
He rolled over and hit the top of his alarm clock immediately, nervous excitement buzzing in his chest. Today was going to be his first ever day of work— after school, of course. Why? Because recently, money had been tight. He couldn't get the image of Mom sitting hunched over at the table, early in the morning, hand over her mouth and sniffling as she looked over the bills spread out in front of her. She had thought she was alone at that hour, since the bus for school didn't leave for another forty minutes— and of course, Dad wasn't up. He was skipping work; lazing around in bed with a hangover. That was starting to become routine. So Chan caught her by surprise that morning, and had her hurrying to wipe her eyes and put on a smile.
At the time, Chan was still feeling the sting of the fact that summer vacation to the local amusement park had been cancelled a few days before they were meant to go, almost without a word. That was sign number one. He'd been perplexed as he continually noticed the fridge starting to look a little barer, even after each grocery trip— sign two. But the thing that finally convinced him he needed to do something was Mom saying no to Hannah and Lucas' request for popsicles on the last hot day of the year, because they didn't have the money for that kind of thing right now. That's when Chan decided enough was enough. He needed to get a job. And this was going to be the perfect time to bring it up.
At first, his mother had been hesitant (for some reason she didn't make clear) to allow him to go through with this plan. But Chan's enthusiasm, rather than simply willingness, convinced her. Honestly, even though she'd contested the idea at first, she'd looked quite relieved to give in and agree to it. And Chan had glowed when, through the tears that she just couldn't hold back, try as she might, and with a bone-crushing hug, she told him she was so very proud of her responsible boy.
He'd really just wanted to help Mom out... she was so stressed these days, and for some reason, Dad just wasn't helping, leaving her to take it all on alone. Plus, he found it unfair that his little siblings were now being denied the same fun experiences he'd had at their ages. At the very least, they'd have money for popsicles again... And maybe, just perhaps, he felt very grown-up as he envisioned himself saying: "I have work today." His little siblings would look at him like he was the coolest big brother in the world.
Not many places were looking for twelve-year-old boys to hire. But after some looking, and asking, and perhaps begging, Chan landed himself a job sweeping floors and scrubbing counters for minimum wage at a hardware store. Who could resist a bright-eyed boy who asked very nicely to work— and worked as hard as he could, even for not much reward?
And from that day... though his days felt long and drawn-out, it was like he just blinked and there he was, waking up to a white ceiling again. Rolling over and hitting the snooze button on his phone for just five more minutes.
