this summer | jeongchan

two

the loud buzz of jeongin's alarm clock rings through his ears annoyingly. he reaches a hand over to his bedside table and grabs his phone, clicking the button to stop the blaring alarm. he stretches out and sits up, rubbing the back of his neck. he squints and checks the time on his phone, 7:40.

shit, he says to himself. even if jeongin doesn't want to go, his father would kill him if they are late. so, he quickly jumps off of his bed and goes to the bathroom, changes his clothes, and brushes his teeth.

jeongin closes his bedroom door with one hand and rolls his suitcase with the other. his gaze lingers on the door, wanting to remember the room forever. he then hears a voice call out from downstairs,

"jeongin! hurry up hun'!" it's obviously his mother, thankfully. he breathes in and nods, starting to make his way down the stairs.

once he gets down, he scans the room to see only his mother standing near the door with keys in her hand. "where's dad?" jeongin asks.

"he had an emergency at work, so it'll be just me taking you." his mother explains and he takes a breath of relief.

at least one good thing about going is that jeongin won't have to see his father for three months.

jeongin and his mother walk outside to the car and get inside, almost immediately taking off to the road.

"so," his mother begins as she drives into another lane, "you don't seem as upset as yesterday.. are you excited?"

jeongin scoffs, shifting in the passengers seat. "yeah, i'm totally excited to be doing nothing this summer." he says in a nonchalant tone, his mother also picking up on it.

"don't say that! i bet you'll have a lot of fun and make friends, talk to people, at least." she says, which immediately angers her son. jeongin clenches his fist and chews on his bottom lip, not wanting to snap at his mother.

taking a deep breath, he turns and says, "mom, you know why it's hard for me. the do—"

"—the doctor doesn't know anything! you're not mentally ill, you just have to go out more! that's why im taking you there god dammit!" his mother yells, frightening jeongin. he's used to it, though. his mother always belittled mental illness, especially to protect her (and her sons) image in society, which is completely fucking bullshit in jeongin's opinion.

jeongin stays quiet though, he figures it's no use arguing with her when they're now only fifteen minutes away from the camp. he rests his head on the window, watching empty fields go by.

once they finally arrive, his mother's the first to get out of the car. she opens the truck and heaves out jeongin's suitcase and rolls it to his door.

after small goodbyes, jeongin grips the suitcase and watches as his mother hops into the car and takes off, completely leaving him alone.