not your typical love story // 𝓼𝓸𝓸𝓷𝓱𝓸𝓸𝓷. (EDITING...)

CH.43

when jihoon heard a female cry followed by a loud gunshot, he immediately closed his eyes.

sorry. sorry. sorry.

as if by instinct, soonyoung grabs the latter in a protective embrace in an attempt to muffle the sound and keep it from reaching the younger, despite knowing the fact that it'd be impossible to do so.

soonyoung knew that if he hadn't had the doctor with him at the moment, he wouldn't have been hiding in a dark corner right now but rather, he'd probably be exchanging bullets with that bastard jiwon.

however, he's currently with jihoon, and keeping the younger has always been a top priority for him.

"it's fine. it's all going to be alright," soonyoung softly whispered next his ear, softly ruffling the younger's hair in an attempt to calm him down.

i'll keep you safe as long as i'm still breathing, even if it means risking my own life. the blonde thought to himself, not forgetting why he was doing this in the first place.

flashback.

"my mother died. now that i'm all alone and no one's there to loves me anymore, let me die too," pleaded the little, frail nine-year-old kid, to no one in particular.

both his eyes were bloodshot and puffy from all the crying.

He's sitting somewhere in the park's corner.

"i don't want to be here anymore, i miss my mum, bring back my mom," he begged, tears streaming down his face once more.

as the boy sat alone, he couldn't help but let out a series of muffled sobs.

"hey, why are you crying?" asked a calming voice that seemed like it belonged to a child.

the newcomer came out of nowhere, but the nine-year-old boy does not have the luxury of being surprised because he's crying since the entire morning.

when he turned to look up at the person to see who it was, he saw a very cute looking child.

the newcomer is significantly smaller than the nine-year-old boy and that's probably the first thing that tye nine-year-old boy noticed aside from his chinky eyes that multiplied his appeal and adorableness.

the stranger knelt down to match his current level and smiled at him with a genuine but endearing smile.

"it's freezing out here at this time of day, so why are you here by yourself?" said the cute child, his voice pure of innocence and curiosity.

if the nine-year-old child hadn't been crying his heart all morning, he would have probably said something to like 'cute' to the newcomer.

"my mum died, and i'm all alone now; people say that it was my father who killed her, that's why i hate him; i don't want to see him," he responded.

"i'm sad to hear that, but remember you're not alone," the smaller child says, grabbing the hand of the nine-year-old, much taller boy and gently squeezing it to let him know he's not alone.

honestly, it was such a mature statement coming from the small stranger.

"well, you see, both my parents died when i was five, so my grandparents adopted me; however, grandma died recently, and my grandpa is sick, so he's currently in the hospital."

"i'm sorry to hear that," the older boy replied with a frown.

"it's fine since my auntie took the responsibility and look after me, but since she's a doctor, she's always busy that's why i'm usually alone in the house, but being unable to be with someone doesn't mean i'm lonely, because my mother once told me that being able to breathe the same air as anyone does reminds us that we aren't the only one existing, there's others too." the stranger said with his bright innocent eyes before flashing a smile.

"i didn't know that at all. sorry, what to do? my sadness is nothing compares to you-"

"no, it's all in the past now," the smaller boy said, standing up and letting go of the much taller lad's hand.

the smaller child joked, "come on, you should get up too, crying doesn't suit you at all."

"pft-" snickering, the taller boy complied and did as the younger boy requested, smiling at the cute and adorable stranger.

"seriously, thank you for your encouragement," he murmured, a small smile on his face.

"by the way, whenever i'm feeling down, my mum used to sing a song to me," the adorable young child commented.

"hm?" the taller responded as he led the way to the park bench.

they both sat down, and the smaller of the two smiled innocently.

"right. let me sing the song to you," the smaller suggested, "i hope it can cheer you up like it did to me."

and with that, the small child began singing a very quiet and sweet symphony; his voice is surprisingly pretty and soothing for a child.

the taller boy was taken aback; he had no idea that that adorable-looking kid had such a voice.

the boy finished singing, and the taller man was taken aback.

he then remarked, surprised."woah, wait. i never realized you had such a beautiful voice."

"i- well, uhm, thank you?" the smaller guy said meekly, blushing at the compliment he had just received.

it's not that he dislikes it; it's just that he's shy.

like really really shy.

"what's your name, by the way?" asked the taller one.

"my name is soonyoung, kwon soonyoung, but you can call me whatever you want, i'm cool with it," the taller kid introduced before giving his hand for a handshake, which the smaller boy enthusiastically accepted and answered to.

"i'll call you hoshi then," the smaller said,

"why hoshi though?"

"well, it's a japanese term for the word star, and your bright eyes kind of resemble a star."

the information made the older shy."and you?"

"my name is lee jihoon, call me whatever you want."

"then i'll call you uji," the taller grinned but never actually told the smaller guy why he called him that because he's too embarrassed to do so.

uji. our jihoon

end of flashback.

after all, it's you who gave me that nickname and it's hilarious how you didn't even recognize me or the nickname that you gave to me.

before standing and looking around to checked if anyone's outside, the blonde pondered to himself for awhile then stood.

"doctor, let's keep moving for now," soonyoung whispered to the latter, taking the younger's hand in his to assist him in standing.