Personal Sunrise

Reckless

Key’s POV

                The silence that filled the inside of the car was crushing; the tension was thick enough to cut with a knife. I kept my face turned away from Jonghyun’s father, watching the dreary landscape fly past the passenger window. Part of me wished he would turn on the radio or talk about the weather, but I knew the situation called for a more somber atmosphere.

                I jumped as Jonghyun’s father suddenly cleared his throat. Damn it, I thought we were going to wait until we got to the station to discuss this?

                “So,” he said casually, glancing at me from the corner of his eye. “Is that SooHye’s headband…?”

                I blushed as I suddenly remembered the glittering accessory perched on top of my head. I reached up and quickly pulled it off.

                Jonghyun’s father laughed lightly. “You really are one for fashion, aren’t you? I wouldn’t have expected Jonghyun to fall for someone so eccentric.”

                I felt my face heat up even more as I stared at my shoes. I really didn’t want to talk to him about my relationship with Jonghyun.

                “Ah, sorry. You probably don’t want to talk to me about that kind of stuff, huh?” He smiled ruefully and turned his gaze back to the road.

                “Um.” My voice caught. I cleared my throat softly. “It’s…still a bit confusing. But…you said it so…casually. Doesn’t it bother you that…?” My voice trailed off. I clasped my hands tightly together in my lap and let the sentence hang in the air between us.

                He smiled. “Does it bother me that my son is gay?”

                I nodded.

                “Of course not.” He shrugged. “Why would it?”

                “Well…” I bit my lip as I searched for the right words. “I mean, this isn’t America. The majority of people here aren’t very tolerant toward that kind of thing…”

                He shrugged again. “You’ve met my wife. She’s a very…free spirit. She never judges anyone. We’ve been married for a long time, and her attitude has definitely worn off on me. And besides, it’s Jonghyun’s life. He’s free to love whoever he wants to love. I don’t have the power to stop something like that.”

                I smiled slightly, despite the situation. “I think everyone would be a lot happier if they thought like that. It’s really nice to know I’m not being judged.”

                “You’ve got enough to deal with already. You shouldn’t have to worry about people hating you because of who you fall in love with.”

                I opened my mouth to reply, but quickly closed it again when I realized I had nothing to say. It was still so odd knowing that there were people who cared that much about me.

                The rest of the journey was spent in a more comfortable silence. The tension returned, however, when we pulled up in front of the police station. I felt my fingers curl into fists involuntarily. Was I really ready to talk about everything?

                Jonghyun’s father noticed my hesitation. “We can go back if you want to. You don’t have to talk.”

                I took a deep breath and shook my head. “No. No, it’s time somebody heard about it.”