Forever And Ever (BTS)

Chapter 9

Seeing Mr Kim drunk was normal now. The children and Mrs Kim were practically numb to it by now. It still hurt them to see him like this, but they had accepted that try as they might, they couldn't do much to help him. So they just had to hope that he came to his senses sooner or later. However, Mr Kim had been getting more violent lately, going from throwing furniture around to coming close to hitting one of his family members. The children were scared, Mrs Kim was scared, more for the kids than herself. Nights had been spent dodging Mr Kim's badly aimed blows while trying to calm him down. They were in danger. Mr Kim was strong, even when drunk, if the damage to the furniture was anything to go by. If someone was hit, it would be bad. 

Another night with a drunk father ranting in the living room, playing in the room next door. The seven children tried to be as quiet as possible. Noise could easily set him off, and that was the last thing anyone wanted. But, of course, when children are playing, it can be easy and quick for them to forget themselves. 

"No, how did you win again?" Tae whined as Jin victoriously won another round of Snap. "Just face it, I'm better at Snap than you!" Jin replied triumphantly with a smug look on his face. "NO, YOU CHEATED!" The room went silent as everyone's eyes went wide. Tae realised his mistake as well, but it was too late. Their gazes turned to the door as the silhouette of their father appeared, quite like one of a scary monster.

"WHAT IS THIS RACKET?" Mr Kim yelled with pure rage in his bloodshot eyes. The children remained silent, not daring to say a single word. Mr Kim stalked over to Tae, who immediately went to hide behind Jin. Jin wrapped his arms around Tae, ready to protect him. But he was no match for his father. Mr Kim growled as he lunged to grab Tae's arm and pull him out of Jin's protective embrace. The others could not move, as much as they wanted to help Tae. They knew Mr Kim would just beat whoever tried to help. And so they sat there, watching with trepidation. 

SMACK

The resounding sound of Mr Kim's slap across Tae's face echoed throughout the room. Then again. And again and again and again. Over and over, Tae was hit all over his body. His brothers could only watch in horror. Finally, Yoongi found the courage to speak. "Stop, Dad, he's your son, why are you hurting him?" Unfortunately, it did nothing but fuel Mr Kim's anger. "Who are you, to question me? GO TO YOUR ROOM, ALL OF YOU!" The six kids slowly walked out of the room, heads hung low in fear and shame that they couldn't help Tae. Jin tried to hold Tae's hand, but their father knocked his hand away. Tae was left alone with their monster of a father.

Half an hour later, Tae crept into the bedroom. His brothers all crowded around him the second he entered, and gasped in horror at the state he was in. His face was bloody and bruised, he could barely keep his eyes open. His hands were shaking and he was obviously in a lot of pain. Jin gently took one of Tae's hands and led him to the bathroom. "Come, let's get you cleaned up," he whispered. Tae said nothing, just followed him to the sink. Jin quickly got the first aid kit and patched Tae up, cringing at the amount of blood. When he was done, he noticed a stray tear roll down Tae's cheek. His own eyes welled up as he fiercely hugged his little brother. "I'm sorry we couldn't do anything, Tae. I'm so, so sorry," he said softly.

That night, the six of them were kept up by the sound of Tae's whimpers throughout the night. If only they had a way to fight off the demons that now haunted Tae. But they were powerless. And so they had to face the sounds of Tae crying in his sleep as he got nightmare after nightmare, knowing that waking him up wouldn't do much good, when reality was just as bad.

Meanwhile, all Tae saw in his sleep was the looming figure of his father and his hand whipping across his face.