STRANGER [SEONGJOONG]

CHAPTER XII

*+:｡.｡ᴘᴀʀᴛɴᴇʀ｡.｡:+*

It was late at night. A woman sat on a chair outside the infirmary, while a blue haired paced up and down the hospital corridor. The woman's face was contorted with pain and worry, her forehead damp with clammy sweat. Her hands were shaking and she was shivering all over. A mother's heart. Her beloved son was inside the room in a distorted state and she couldn't think of anything else.

Hongjoong couldn't sit patiently at all. Worries were continuously killing him, as he paced up and down the empty corridor. He was sweating profusely and thinking about his brother bleeding from his nose made his stomach twist in pain.

"J-Joong..."

Within a second, he was beside his mother. The pale woman slowly placed a cold hand against his cheek and said, "Go home, son. I'll stay back. You have school tomorrow."

Hongjoong quickly shook his head.

"No! I'm not going anywhere without you and Woo-"

"Joong," his mother said calmly, in a painful voice, "Go home and rest. I will keep you updated about him, okay?"

"B-but-"

"H-honey please..."

Hongjoong did not want to argue with his mother, especially after seeing the state she was in. Usually, he wasn't a person to give up, especially when it involved Wooyoung. But he didn't want his mother to worry anymore. He agreed.

"Don't hesitate to call me, mother, if anything is wrong," Hongjoong assured. He quickly gave a small peck on his mother's tear stained cheeks and with a heavy, reluctant heart, he left.

It was dark, past ten by the clock. Hongjoong decided to walk the way back home. It wasn't too far, just a twenty minutes stroll. He had chosen a shortcut, which led through a relatively darker alley. But Hongjoong didn't mind much, he had already travelled through this path before. As he walked down the path, his fingers clutching at the latch of his bag, a creepy eerie feeling disturbed him continuously. Poor guy! He didn't even walk for five minutes and he was already regretting his decision.

"Park's new boy toy I see?"

Hongjoong froze upon hearing the voice all of a sudden. He didn't dare to turn around and see who it was. And why would he? He knew. He knew that voice so well...and how could he forget? That voice, which broke his brother's fragile heart, that voice that left his poor brother traumatized, afraid to love again, that voice that destroyed his brother. Images of his brother all broken, sad and tearful flashed across his eyes like a bolt of lightning. Instantly, his fear was replaced with wrath. Anger boiled in Hongjoong's blood as he turned around and faced the owner of the voice.