STUDY BUDDIES. | hajeongwoo

25.

haruto nodded, reluctant to do so but was forced nonetheless. taking another sip of tea to ease his tension, the bitter taste of the expensive tea awakened his nerves, the unpleasant flavor lingering in the insides of his mouth.

scrunching his nose, his face showed immense grimace as he immediately placed the tea back to its place, almost vomiting and regretting why he took a sip once again.

his mom shook his head in disapproval, finding it quite inappropriate for his son to act so unmannered and discourteous despite their status.

"if you visit her, don't forget to mention the mar—" haruto choked from his own saliva before his mother could even finish her remark.

suddenly all the anger and contempt he could gather rushed up through his veins, his blood boiling, eyes filled with disbelief and disdain.

all of this suddenly appeared the moment her mother reminded him of that twisted fact once again, right when he was almost close to having freedom and redeeming happiness back when he met jeongwoo.

jeongwoo. the thought came to mind. how about jeongwoo? why did his name appear on his mind at the mention of this situation?

none of it made sense, and suddenly haruto was reminded by the fact that he had no chance of running away—right from the stupid and intoxicated mind of his family just to focus all their attention to business and neglecting the happiness they could have given to him, their son.

he hated everything, so suddenly, right when he was so close to getting involved to how life works out of manipulation and just straight freedom.

he wanted to yell, resentment taking over his sanity while being reminded by the most cruel past he had encountered. he did not know why he was overreacting either.

was it because of his parents, that stupid engagement, or the concern regarding jeongwoo right at the back of his mind?

one thing that came to his mind was to leave, immediately. and before he could even do so, he took a glance at his mother.

seeing how she was taken aback, he figured out that the contempt in his eyes were so visible that he doesn't need any words to utter his pure resentment.

"im going home," haruto stood up before walking away from the grandiose hall, his firm footsteps echoing right through walls and back to the surfaces of their almost empty mansion.

lucky to have any patience left to be able to inform his mother that he's going out, and might as well not come again.

but having patience left enough to listen to whatever words his mom would say to convince him to stay longer and listen to things he doesn't even give a care about, he couldn't handle.

strolling through their huge backyard and then proceeding to get inside his car, he breathed a heavy sigh. and leaning his back at his seat, he tried to calm himself and put everything together.

but seeing how the grudge went way too uncontrolled, he stomped his feet out of frustration.

one thing he knew, he need to calm down— that's priority. but knowing that he had no ability to supress every emotion he felt back inside of his, he needed to at least talk or seek help to someone, although swallowing his pride for that price.

several people came to mind; yoshinori? mashiho? his colleagues? none of it matter. just someone, he thought.

running his slender hands inside his pockets in search for his phone, he snatched it out and typed a certain number. maybe mashiho, remembering that yoshinori is busy enough to even bother.

and then putting it right to his ear to wait for an answer as the phone continued to ring, the sound seems to trigger his irritation. endless tapping at the steering wheel where he rested his arms, he waited and waited but there was no answer.

"ah, damn it!" he huffed in frustration, almost throwing his phone out of anger, losing control of himself more and more.

he fell silent for a second, trying to think but his mind completely occupied by the reason why he was so mad, until a certain name came to mind.

jeongwoo, right. haruto hesitated for a moment, staring at the contact list and seeing jeongwoo's name. just one press and he'll be ready to talk, if jeongwoo would answer that is.

but the main reason for his hesitation despite wanting to ask for help was because of the fact that he does not want to bring any of his personal problems to him, drag him to his mess, and then regret it afterwards.

he's already had enough of a bother just by teaching him maths that he don't even understand.

but the thing is, he just wanted accompany. just a single 'hey', would be fine, even a rant or a question as to why he called is fine.

hearing someone's voice, specifically jeongwoo when he's currently under a breakdown is more than good enough to calm his nerves down and forget everything even just for a mere minute.

so taking a gulp, he pressed the contact and the call button before pressing his phone right to his ear as he subconsciously hoped that he would answer.

i need you this time, park jeongwoo.

ㅡ
double update because im productive today!