His Guardian(s)

Chapter 7 - Countenance

CW: mentions of abuse, self-harm, and unhealthy coping mechanism

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Shin Junghwan.

He goes by that name.

It was a name his mother came up with, along with his dad on one of their early dates.

Trust, bright, and gentle are what they have decided upon, and they were granted a son who lives up exactly to his name.

Trust, was for him to live as someone whose trust is valued.

Bright, was for him to exist like the sun who grants life for others.

And gentle, was for him to grow and treat the person he treasured the most, as gentle as a man should be.

Junghwan had always been an obedient child. In the household where he lived with the two of his parents, Junghwan was as bright and active as his mother wanted him to be.

Whenever she did the house chores, Junghwan was always there to help, even if only a little. Every effort he made was with his whole heart, his will, and his energy. Despite a young child's need for sleep, Junghwan would spend his mornings cooking with his mom. He might not have been much help in the kitchen, often creating a mess instead, but his mom would always thank him and a gentle smile would be plastered on her face.

And it was at that moment Junghwan first figured out, that the smile on her mother was the trigger to his.

However, Junghwan's father was quite the opposite—calm and stoic, yet harsh and ominous. His presence in the house usually meant one of two things: Junghwan's sleepless nights or the beginning of a new nightmare.

It was never the same before that night.

His father was a nurturing figure, whom Junghwan loved the most, equally with his mother. 

Junghwan used to ride his father's shoulders, playing with his hair as if to control him like a robot. Never in those moments would his father ever get mad at Junghwan for anything. Instead, he played along and looked delighted, just as a father and son should be together.

He would light-heartedly praise Junghwan's energetic dance whenever the kid sought his attention, and never did Junghwan notice any displease in those eyes. Until now, Junghwan still believes those eyes were genuine, even if it's only for those fleeting memories.

They all disappeared after the incident, when Junghwan was taken out for a snack evening by his father's friend he called an aunt.

That afternoon was going to be one of his happiest moments. The aunt had bought Junghwan so many treats to celebrate him getting the first rank in his first year of elementary school. Junghwan was beyond happy, even. He could eat as much ice cream as he wanted, even though his father usually limited it to once a week.

It was when they were walking on the sidewalk with Junghwan enjoying his strawberry ice cream while the Aunt told stories of the most random things, an explosion burst from the inside of the building they coincidentally walked past.

The impact sent Junghwan's small body flying, landing on his head and sprained his ankle.

The incident happened in a blur. A car speeding up failed to stop in time when the debris flew over and as the aunt tripped over to the road, along with the fire of guns deafening Junghwan, a loud thud drowned out all other noises and stopped the pain in his ankle.

A body rolled off from the car's roof and rolled, stopping right in front of him. Blood all over the woman's figure which Junghwan still recognized as his father's friend. The very same aunt who treated him the best, next to his mother.