penumbra

Chap. 4 - Day One

Seonghwa already knew who it was when he heard the doorbell ring.

He'd been playing video games for a while, waiting for lunch, not much but frustration on his mind. The atmosphere in his home had been heavy and uncomfortable since the boy had had his high-school graduation. Constantly consumed by his thoughts regarding the uncertainty of the future and the great possibility of being a failure for his family, Seonghwa couldn't muster courage to take the university entry exam that year, and that got his father pissed. The man had always been overbearing when it came to his son's discipline and achievements, and throughout the years that only served to worsen Seonghwa's anxiety issues. Such issues usually culminated in crippling insomnia episodes - besides the nightmares and occasional panic attacks - and he was currently in the middle of one, barely sleeping for the past three days.

The game was paused and the console left on the bed as Seonghwa got up to make his way out his room. He was feeling too worn out to rush downstairs even when in fact he actually wanted to do so, given he knew who was waiting outside.

When he opened the front door he just couldn't help but light up in a bright smile.

"Unannounced?" Seonghwa jabbed playfully.

"Best friend privilege" Hongjoong sang in response, holding his chin high.

Seonghwa invited him in, chuckling, before focusing on relaxing his shoulders and led them to the kitchen to greet his parents. Upon arriving, the older took a deep breath, relishing the amazing smell of his mom's cooking.

"Oh, hey, Joong-ah!" Seonghwa's mom chirped, scrambling to go give her son's friend a big hug.

"Hi, Mrs. Park" the younger answered cheerfully then looked at the food being made on the stove. "Wow, that smells so good!"

She thanked him with the sweetest smile imaginable and quickly turned back to the food.

"It's everything alright at home?" With eyes still on the oven, the older woman asked, discreet worry in her tone.

"No casualties in..." He exaggeratedly thought to himself, humming and putting his index finger on his chin for maximum effect before taking his phone out and checking the time. "Two hours, thirty one minutes and counting, ma'am!"

She nodded and sighed, a sad smile on her face as she stirred whatever smelled so good on the pan.

"Could Hongjoong stay for lunch?" Seonghwa inquired, trying to change the subject so it didn't linger for long enough that Hongjoong started actually feeling bad.

"Yes, of course, honey! I'll just take a bit more to finish here, okay?"

"Thanks, mom. It's alright, we'll just wait upstairs."

That interaction went terrifically, the vibe was great... But that wasn't the parent Seonghwa was worried about.

Across from where they were sat Seonghwa's father at the kitchen table, in the middle of something Seonghwa assumed was work related, as the man alternated between reading and writing things down, intensely focused and with a big frown on his face.

"Hello, Mr. Park" Hongjoong greeted cautiously, not moving a muscle from his current spot so as to not get any closer.

"Hello, Hongjoong" the man simply answered not bothering to take his eyes off of what he was doing.

Even though he was already used to the cold demeanor of the older man, Hongjoong couldn't help but tense up at the treatment. He somehow looked even more strict today, annoyed even. The younger side eyed his friend, finding his quietness weird, but before he could even open his mouth to question it, Seonghwa grabbed his hand and took both of them out of the kitchen, hurriedly going upstairs and into his room.