jimin hummed quietly to himself as he made his way home from taehyung's tutoring session. he had a light bounce in his step, as the session had gone rather well. taehyung had actually decided to pay attention for once, for there were quite a few tests looming above them just before christmas break. for taehyung's compliance, he had earned himself yet another kiss on the cheek from jimin; this wasn't a very uncommon occurrence by this point.
jimin turned onto his street, which was almost completely dark save a couple of streetlights lining the road. he was about to walk up his steps, but halted as soon as he heard a scream from somewhere down the street.
"jimin!"
jimin furrowed his eyebrows, turning towards the source of the noise. all he could see was the faint silhouette of a girl running towards him, one hand waving in the air like a flag in a hurricane. as the girl neared, illuminated by the faint glow of the streetlights, jimin narrowed his eyes and bit the inside of his cheek rather painfully. It was none other than jiyeon. she leapt up the stairs, stopping in front of her brother.
"what the hell, jiyeon?" jimin growled, his hands clenching into fists as he took a step backwards. "i thought you were gone, yet here you are. why can't you leave me alone?"
jiyeon ignored his comment as best as she could. she grabbed jimin's hands, her large eyes pleading, like a dog begging for food. jimin flinched and attempted to pull his hands away, but jiyeon's grip was surprisingly strong.
"listen," jiyeon gapsed for air, her forehead sticky with sweat. "please, just listen."
jimin clenched his jaw, not bothering to utter any words. he could feel his teeth grinding against one another in anger.
jiyeon continued, her hair plastered to her face. she kept her hands firmly pressed down on jimin's wrists. "stop running away from me. i'm owning up to my mistakes, ok? i'm sorry. i really am. i was just too much of a coward to stand up for you."
"if that's all you have to say, i'm leaving," jimin responded, his voice low as he yet again attempted to wrench his hands out of jiyeon's grip.
jiyeon stepped on jimin's foot and tightened her grip. "your parents also want to talk to you."
jimin's eyes flared up in fire at the mention of his parents. he felt like a bomb, slowly ticking down. the dormant volcano erupted.
"what the fuck?!" he exploded, yanking his hands out of jiyeon's with such force that he staggered backwards, hitting the railing behind him. "they fucking abused me. they starved me. they hit me. all of my pain is because of them. do you really expect me to just walk up to them and talk with them?!"
jiyeon flinched visibly, her eyes hitting the ground in shame. "just hear them out," she mumbled, rocking back and forth on her feet.
jimin scoffed and ran his hands through his hair, clutching and pulling at the ends. "fine," he snorted, almost laughing at the stupidity of the situation. "let's hear what they have to say. where are they?"
jiyeon spun around on her heels and pointed towards a lone car sitting in the middle of the street. "they're right there."
jimin absent-mindedly stepped down the stairs, heading towards the lit up vehicle. jimin tried his best to appear casual as he approached the people who he hated so much, though visible sweat rolled down his forehead. the bright lights of the car blinded him, interrupting the peaceful, dark night. as he neared, the doors opened. jimin couldn't help but scoff as his parents stepped out of the car, their hair gray with age.
"jimin." jimin's mother smiled sweetly at the boy as if nothing had happened between them. "how have you been doing?"
jimin snorted at the simplicity of the question. "i've been doing just fine without you." the hairs on the back of his neck prickled with apprehension, as if warning him this had been a bad idea.
jimin's father appeared as well. he didn't even bother to say a word of greeting or acknowledgement. "enough small talk. let's cut to the chase," he said, staring directly into jimin's eyes. "are you still gay?"
jimin stiffened, his eyebrows furrowing together in confusion as he stared back at the abusive man whom he felt no compassion towards. his dad could go die in a hole for all he cared. "yes," jimin responded, his voice wavering slightly. "and no matter what you'll do will stop that. no matter how much you beat me up, no matter how much you taunt me. why can't you just accept me for who i am?"
jimin's father visibly stiffened. "ah," he muttered. "well, it's a good thing that we've decided to send you to a correction camp over break. people like you should be changed."
jimin froze, hoping he hadn't heard that right. "you're going to what?" he spun around to stare at jiyeon, who was standing right behind him. she was staring down at the pavement in shame; she probably knew this was going to happen.
jimin's mother nodded solemnly, placing a hand on her husband's arm, her eyes glistened slightly. it almost seemed as if she felt compassion for her son.
"that's right. we're sending you to a correction camp."
