𝐛𝐚𝐝 𝐛𝐨𝐲 || 𝐤𝐢𝐦 𝐡𝐨𝐧𝐠𝐣𝐨𝐨𝐧𝐠.

12

a loud chime from hongjoong's phone snaps the two teenagers out of their conversation. they were at a cafe after school, deciding to get some cake and coffee before their study session today. "that was so loud, why the hell isn't my phone on silent?"

dahee laughs at his little outburst, sipping on her drink as the boy checks his phone. his face turns dark, a frown overtaking his facial features. "joong, are you okay? who texted you?" she places a hand above his one that wasn't holding onto his phone.

the boy says nothing, simply showing the girl his phone. the text read "how are you doing, my dear hongjoong?"

dahee blinks repeatedly, confused. it was from a number he didn't save but from the text itself, dahee could kind of guess who the sender was. "is this... from her?"

"i'm 100% pretty sure it is," the boy rolls his eyes, locking his phone and placing it face down on the table. "i can't believe she has the audacity to text me, after leaving me alone for a whole year? does she think she deserves to be back in my life? after leaving when i needed her the most? she's the stupidest person alive if she thinks that." he scoffs, rolling his eyes.

"hey, hey, chill. i know you're getting worked up over this but it's not worth it. thinking about it will only get you angrier. and i don't want angry hongjoong when i'm teaching later," the girl boops his nose, causing the frown on his face to be replaced by a gentle smile. "okay baby, i'm sorry."

"no, no, don't be sorry. anyways, should we get going already? it might rain halfway to your place if we don't start walking now," the girl stands up and grabs her bag before hongjoong snatches it from her, offering to carry it for her.

he holds it on one hand and holds out his other hand towards her, grinning. dahee shakes her head at this, grabbing onto his hand as she playfully rolls her eyes at his antics. the two walk towards hongjoong's apartment, swinging their intertwined hands while they talk.

-

"ugh, god! she just texted me again! dahee, what do i do?" the boy looks genuinely exasperated and dahee really didn't want him to stress over this. "okay hold on, what did she say this time?" she gently places a hand on his shoulder.

again, he hands her his phone, not wanting to read out the message to her. she took it, frowning as she read the text. "are you not going to reply me, my son?"

"like what? does she think she's allowed to call me her son after all she did? she left so she doesn't deserve to come strutting back into my life." he scoffs, throwing his head back against the couch. "hey, hey, calm down. okay how about this, you just text her back and ask her what is it that she wants. is that okay?" she suggests.

he groans at this, clearly not wanting anything more to do with the woman. but dahee manages to convince him to text her back to ask what she wants and he begrudgingly does so. within ten minutes she has already replied him. he rolls his eyes as he picks up his phone, expecting a stupid reasoning from the woman he once lovingly referred to as his mother. "i need to talk to you in person. can we meet?" the text read.

"there's no way in hell i'm meeting up with that woman. i don't want to cause a scene in public because i'm pretty sure i'm gonna end up having really nasty things to say to her." he tries to come up with a reason to avoid having to meet up with that woman.

but yet again, dahee is persistent. she wanted the boy to talk it out with his mother, clear things up because no matter how lowly he speaks of her, she knows that deep down, he doesn't hate her completely.

he just wanted to hate her because she gave him a reason to. but really, it's not that easy to just hate someone who raised you your whole life. that's partly why dahee deals with the shit her father gives her. she believes that the once role model father of hers is still in there somewhere, deep behind that monstrous mask of his. she still loves him despite everything. because he's still her father, after all.

"okay joongie, how about i come with? will that make it any better?" hongjoong wonders why the girl is so persistent in wanting him to meet his mother again. a small part of him found it annoying because he really didn't want anything to do with the woman anymore. he reluctantly agrees and with a frown, he watches dahee reply his mother's text for him. the girl notices and gives him a small smile. "give her a chance, joong. maybe she'll explain why she did what she did,"

"she left without telling me anything, dahee. do you have any idea how hurt i was? to wake up and suddenly the only family i have left, left me without a word. it's been a year, shouldn't i have gotten an explanation right then and there? shouldn't i have gotten at least a warning or something first? like 'oh hey son i'm going to leave you alone to care of yourself for the rest of your life now, goodbye'? no! nothing! nothing at all!" he starts getting emotional.

"i was so lost for a few weeks and i didn't know what to do. i was all alone, dahee. is that something a mother should be doing to her own son? is that something someone like me deserve to experience? did i deserve that? what did i do in my past life to end up having to experience such pain at this age?"

a lone tear traced down his cheek, and just like that, the floodgates opened. she pulled him in and he sobbed into her chest unceasingly, hands clutching at her jacket. she held him in silence, rocking him slowly as she caressed him on the head. "it's okay, joong, everything's okay and everything will remain okay, okay? i'll make sure of it," the boy then looks up at her with his teary eyes. "thank you, dahee."

"always, baby. i'm here for you and i'll always be here for you."