He Can't See You

어렵다

어렵다 - to be difficult

Shed your skin. You don't need to be afraid. I'm here. It's OK. It's OK. I'm here. I'm here.

•°。°。°。°。°。°。°。゜。°。°。°。•

I woke up in a pool of sweat, gasping for air. It was like a movie, being replayed in my mind but the reactions never get old and you know, that isn't a very good thing. I sighed and reached for my walking stick that sat next to my bed. I stood up and headed to the bathroom. I really didn't need that useless stick. I knew the place like the back of my own hand by now. It's been 12 years since I was put in an orphanage. You would think by that time, people would trust a blind guy to go walking alone in the dark by himself.

Right, now that I say it outloud, it wouldn't make sense if they did.

I found my way to the bathroom and rested the stick by the wall. I turned on the lights and shuffled to the sink. I rotated the handle and began to rinse my face. The cold water felt so refreshing and caused me to forget about my horid nightmare. All of a sudden, I felt a tap on my shoulder, making me to jump in fear. I almost fell but used the sink as my support. "Dude, calm down. It's me." He laughed. I sighed in frustration and embarrassment. " Seriously, Chu Sang-hyun. You sacred the fuck out of me."

He flinched a bit but then tsked. "How many times do I have to tell you not to call me that? My name is Woo Sang-hoon." That's right. His name is now Woo Sang-hoon and it seems to bring back his pain from the past every time I make that same foolish mistake. Sang-hoon is 18 years old, almost getting ready for college. He's flying all the way to America to a super prestigious school called Harvard. Up to now, I still don't get how he managed to do so but evey time I asked, he always replies with an, " I don't know. I think its because of my magical powers" , which is stupid because there's no such thing as 'magical powers'.

Hyung had a family. A family that didn't deserve the title 'family'. A few years back, his little sister was kidnapped and never to be found again. After that, the tension in the household shifted. His father turned to the dangers of alcohol as a reliever and came home wasted. He would argue with his wife, hit her a few times and go to sleep. Later on, he died in a bar while in a fight that had guns involved. His mother was a psycho. She thought that her sins were coming back to her. She believed that her greatest sin of all was the birth of Sang-hoon and his sister. For years, she made it her ulterior motive to find her and get rid of the existence of her own daughter. As time went by, the probability of her appearance became unlikely. Soon enough, Sang-hoon was her project. She beat him, broke him and tore him apart whether it was physical or verbal, she found a way. One day, Sang-hoon was beaten until he ran into the backyard, in which he cried for help. His neighbor contacted the police and soon enough, his mother was in handcuffs. She was charged with aggravated assault, child abuse and attempted murder. Before she was taken away she said:

" When I find you and your sister again, your heads will be my trophies. "

Sang-hoon lost a lot of things at such an early stage of his life. His family, his home, his name and himself. He changed drastically from a scared little boy to a scared little boy with a suit of armor. He shedded his skin and replaced it with a stronger version. A 'better' version.

" Yo, " Sang-hoon plucked my head, pulling back into reality. I rubbed my wounded area and sucked my teeth. "You weren't listening to a word I said were you?" He asked in a tone so flat that people who didn't believe that the world was round were beginning to. I opened my mouth but closed it soon after it came to my attention that he was sadly correct.

I chuckled nervously and rubbed my hand through my hair. "Sorry hung. " he punched my arm in a brotherly manner.
"I said,  'Do you wanna go on the roof to watch the stars?' " I blinked a few times.

"Since when did you like the stars?"

"Since when did you come to orphanage?"

"Twelve years ago. "

"I've liked them longer than that. So are you coming or not?"

I bit my lip a bit. "What if we get in trouble?" I asked timidly. He sighed.
"You're such a wimp. Fine, you don't have to if you don't want to, baby. " He teased with a smile. Sang-hoon walked off but I grabbed his arm.

"So you're coming?"

"Stop being so damn convincing. "

•°。°。°。°。°。°。°。゜。°。°。°。•

Sang-hoon guided me to the rooftop and helped climb the ladder which was a bit of a struggle but no one was hurt ( not really).  Soon enough, we were laying on the floor of the roof, Sang-hoon gazing at the stars. I completely forgot about one sad fact about me: I'm blind. I can't see anything but blurry figures. The stars are so far away, how would I be able to see anything in my condition? After a few minutes passed, my stomach churned. It wasn't because I was nervous to tell Sang-woo.

It was just sadness. I'm not like kids my age. I'm not able to see. It's either people who pity me or people who forget what position I stand in that hang around me. It's a bit tiring.

"Aren't they beautiful, Taehyung?" His voice showed that the little boy still existed within him. That innocent little boy that remained in his heart after all this time. After hearing him, I didn't have the courage to tell him I couldn't see them. "Yeah, hyung. They're beautiful. "

•°。°。°。°。°。°。°。゜。°。°。°。•

The next day, I was awaken to something I never expected. "Taehyung!"
Mrs. Kanakubo cheered. "Wake up and meet your new family!"

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