feel me | yeonbin

038

“Hello? Yeonjun? Honey?”

“Hi, Mom,” Yeonjun says, and he almost smacks himself when he feels a lump forming in his throat instantly. “How are you? Are you taking care of your meals? Your health? How’s Dad?”

“We’ll eat dinner soon, darling. Dad’s just gotten over a cold,” his mother replies. “But he’s strong. You know Dad. He’s coming right now to talk to you. Is everything okay? Here’s Dad now.”

“Son?”

“Dad, are you well? You’re not sick anymore, are you?” Yeonjun asks, clutching the phone tightly. “Are you drinking lots of water? Please eat a big meal, okay?”

“I’m feeling much better,” his father answers. “Mom’s making dinner for us soon. I’m grateful. It’s nice to hear your voice, son. Are you taking care of your health?”

“I… I’m trying,” Yeonjun says, because he needs to be truthful. “I haven’t talked to you both in a long time, and I wanted to just—to call and let you know what’s going on. A lot has happened.”

“With the criminal case?” his mother asks. “Have they caught the person who did it?”

“I think so,” Yeonjun whispers. “I… yes. I think…”

“Oh, honey, are you crying? It’s okay,” his mother says, sensing Yeonjun’s emotions immediately. Right on cue, the first tears trickle down Yeonjun’s cheeks at the sound of his mother’s soothing tone. “You can tell us what’s going on. You can talk to us. We’re listening, sweetheart. We’re here to listen.”

“What’s going on, Yeonjun?” his father presses. “You can tell us anything, son. It’s okay.”

Yeonjun curls up in a ball and hugs his knees to his chest, dropping his forehead onto his kneecaps and sitting in silence for a moment. His parents won’t mind. He did the same thing the day that he had come out to them as gay. His father said the same exact words—"you can tell us anything, son.” Surely his father hadn’t expected an announcement about sexuality, but he had still taken it in stride, albeit confused. His mother had held him and stroked his hair while he cried without saying a word. But now, Yeonjun isn’t being held, and he wants to be. He needs his parents, and they’re too far away.

“T-The… The police searched my apartment this morning. They took all my electronics. A-And they found out that the leak came from my laptop,” Yeonjun explains. “Which—That means that… I think Daeul leaked the tape. I think he did everything. And… And I think he’s been abusing me for two years.”

“Abusing you?” his father barks, alarmed.

“Psychologically. Emotionally,” Yeonjun replies. “He’s… I broke up with him at the police station. He slapped me across the face, so I walked away. I’m not with him anymore. I moved out. I’m at San’s apartment.”

“Oh, Yeonjun,” his mother says. “Yeonjun, honey, he slapped you? That’s awful. That’s absolutely awful.”

“You can press charges for assault, you know,” his father says, the cool-headed voice of logic.

“Oh, sweetheart. Why didn’t you tell us this was all going on?” his mother asks, sounding tearful. “We could have helped you. We could have done something. We could have come to visit you or brought here. You didn’t have to suffer so much, honey.”

“I couldn’t,” Yeonjun cries. “I couldn’t. Daeul and his family are too powerful, Mom. They kept me here. They—They were keeping me away from you both. You know what the Lee family is like. I—I didn’t have a choice. Even… Even if I did, I didn’t—I didn’t know what to do.”