the kids aren't alright. / golden child

02 ✕ dead eyes

joochan walked along the broken concrete, under the starless sky. the cigarette between his fingers, the lollipop in his mouth.

he reached a door, pushed the key in. heard a loud thud, heard a loud scream. his hand clenched around the cigarette as he entered.

his own home, yet it felt so unsafe.

"i'm home," he muttered, but surprisingly, the noise stopped.

the silence was even scarier.

he looked up, saw his father walking towards him. his hand clenched around a broken glass, lifted it up. "is that a cigarette?"

joochan's breathing hitched, hand letting go of the crushed cigarette stick. "it's unlit," he said calmly, not a trace of lying evident in his dead eyes.

"i thought i told you to quit," his mother joined in, weak, shaky voice.

"i did." he shrugged, swirling the lollipop in his mouth. he pointed to it, "see?"

his father sighed. "you should've made better friends."

"you should've been a better parent." he gave an exaggerated smile, immediately running off to his room afterwards.

he landed on his bed, sighed to himself. baby steps, he thought.

he wasn't alright, but at least he's trying to be.