Hard to Love - (chanbaek)

35

"He's waking up!"

"Owww..."

Baekhyun grabbed his head in pain. A rushing sensation of fatigue had stuck itself against his dry throat. He opened his eyes, the bright light burning his squinted gaze for a moment.

"You're finally up, here take this." The mysterious man handed him a glass filled with medicine. Without thinking, Baekhyun chugged it down and slammed it onto the counter with teary eyes. He felt the burning uproar in his body commence. The bruises on his torso stung for a few seconds before going completely numb. He shook his head, his vision clearing up after blinking a few times.

"Do you feel better now?"

The unknown man smiled. He was a handsome man wearing a black suit. He looked young, but at the same time, he resembled the age of a businessman, similar to a CEO vibe. "W-who are you?!" A shivering stutter accompanied Baekhyuns glass eyes. The older man raised his hands, showing the younger that he was not here to harm him. "Calm down, buddy. I'm Kang Daesung. I'm here to protect you." Baekhyun took a deep breath, still trembling at just the thought of being taken away.

"Why would you protect me?"

"Well, those were your father's wishes. He said if he ever passed away, then I would be in charge of you and your family." Daesung ruffled the boy's hair. He noticed how the smaller flinched immediately, almost as if it were an instinct. The older could only smile and give the boy a bit of space so he could relax.

"Now. You can speak to your family, but make sure to wash up and report to my office when you're done, okay?" Baekhyun hesitantly nodded as he watched Daesung get up and head to the door. "Alright, see you later, Baek." He waved softly before exiting the room. The opened door didn't close immediately. A man with long black hair entered the room in a hurry.

"You're finally up!"

Heechul ran to his nephew, making sure to squeeze him tight within the hug. His eyes watered when he felt the grip on his sweater tighten. The small boy was scared... he was afraid of what he had done and the situation he was currently in. But then again... who wouldn't be?

"I- I'm..."

The blood.

The way he gripped the bat.

It terrified him how fast he turned into a monster. How quick he was to beat his stepfather simply relying on anger.

"It's okay, Baek, you did what anyone else would do in those circumstances. You protected yourself." Heechul smiled, rubbing the youngers back. His uncle was surely shocked from the sight of Baekhyun hurting the alcoholic bastard, but... he was in awe because he didn't think Baek would hold his anger for that long. For more than a decade, the young boy had to deal with constant beatings that not only he had to endure but his mother as well.

"Where's mom?!" He looked around frantically, nervous about the woman who raised him. She was more injured than he was, with noticeably large gashes around her body. "Baek, she's getting intense treatment right now. She's going through surgery, and her body lost a lot of blood. They said she would be fine. We just need to be patient..." He looked down with a sigh, not covering the fact that he was still very worried about his sister's condition.