𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒘𝒃𝒆𝒓𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒄𝒊𝒈𝒂𝒓𝒆𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒔 : 𝒘𝒐𝒘𝒌𝒘𝒂𝒏

bed sheets

Donghun was 7 years old when he first heard his parents fighting during the dead hours after midnight.

the then small child had been woken up to loud screaming and grumbling voices two rooms away from his tiny and colorful bedroom, the confusion that pumped through his weak veins at the time froze the little body in his bed. the soft sheets grounding him and telling him it wasn't a dream.

curious and scared Donghun had left his safe nest, tiptoeing away and to the cracked open door, into the sliver of golden light from the badly lit hallway.

the yelling increased as he pressed his ear against the break in the woods, flinching at the loud crashing sound that followed after a beautiful moment of silence.

Donghun never fully understood what was going on that night, why the fights suddenly started or why they got worse as he grew older.

yelling scared him, raised voices and quick moving hands froze his blood and caused panic to rise in his throat like bile.

he never got hit, he was never yelled at, so why did it cause him such fright? terrified of the day it would be directed at him, the day he'd feel his ears bleed and his skin would burn. but it never came. only silence.

Donghun would break them up, but they'd never acknowledge him then or after. it was like he stopped existing after the first fight.

so many missed school parties and bad grade phone calls.

Donghun grew up knowing the looks he got, the scoffs when he said his parents names and the brushed off looks from his teachers. a mere child ignored because of fucked up parents.

Donghun was 14 when he first got into trouble at school, for something he didn't do.

the kid who had sat next to him had thrown a paper ball at his friends head, but missed and hit the teacher in the back of the head. Donghun hadn't even seen it happen, his head had been down and he had been busy taking the notes the teacher had been writing on the dry erase board.

He had jerked his head up with wide eyes as the teacher had all but screamed his name, face filled with fury and disgust as she gave him detention before spinning around and continuing to write with the marker.

Donghun had just sat there with his mouth open, confusion and fear flooding his mind as he could hear the snicker coming from his classmate responsible.

it was the first day Donghun really realized how fucked up of a life he was handed, pegged a criminal before he opened his mouth or stepped foot on the crime scene.

he'd love to say it didn't get worse, that he never got into trouble again after and spoke up when accused. but of course not, because he was still a scared child.

in and out of detention from the remainder of his middle school year and repeating the process into high school.

making friends didn't really help, at least not a lot by any means.
although he was thankful for meeting Sehyoon in their sophomore year and the then freshmen Junhee.

those two didn't like each other, two different backgrounds and clashing options that ended in fights and snappy comments when the three hung out.