Man In Love (남자가 살랑할 때): A Kim Myungsoo Fanfic

Chapter 2

Myungsoo had to walk through the corridor to get to his classroom, after being called to the principal's office for the umpteenth time for vandalising school property. All he did was draw on the table while being bored in class. The corridor he had to pass wasn't only a corridor- it was the Corridor of Shame. Students on his left, on his right, mumbling and whispering. They thought that he was deaf but apparently, he wasn't. He could hear most of their comments about him.

"Aigoo, for a handsome-face like him, it's a pity to have such a bad attitude."

"The scars on his arms make him look disgusting! I wonder how he even got those?"

However, he didn't mind anything at all. The negative remarks about him did not do anything to hurt him, but it did made him think of his past which made him shudder. A chill ran down Myungsoo's spine as he thought of those dark nightmares.

"Andwae. Don't think about it," he mumbled under his breath.

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He winced as he felt the trickle of acid down his arm, burning, due to the corrosiveness of acid. Tied to a chair, pinned to the wall, he was brutally abused by his drunkard father after his mother died.

The acid continued trickling down, turning his beautiful, soft and smooth skin red, forming a scar which will last forever. The pain hurt him so much, he cried out loud in pain and agony... the pain...

Myungsoo immediately shot upright in his bed. He could feel his face wet with tears. A lump formed in his throat. Nothing, nothing in the world could ever take away this pain from him. Myungsoo knew that it wasn't the physical pain from all these scars which caused him nightmares in his sleep, he knew that it was the mental pain, the knowledge that his father abandoned him to live with a ex-neighbour of his. His neighbour was his pillar of support for many years and was as close as a family member.
Myungsoo felt better at the thought of not needed to go to school after being bullied in school. He was to be homeschooled.

Hyoan, Myungsoo's ex-neighbour who was his guardian now, came into the room and upon seeing Myungsoo awake, queried,"Wow, why are you up so early? By the way, since you're up so early, do you want to go to the Centre with me?"

"Hyung... you know I don't have the mood to go to these kind of places," Myungsoo grumbled.

The Centre was basically a place like a campus, where people with various problems or disabilities like having the depression or inability to walk go to. It was by far the biggest place Myungsoo knew in his hometown. The Centre was a place where people of all ages gathered together to talk and socialise with each other and some people even go there to be alone. Some people, like Hyoan, go there to do charity work and also socialise with the people there. According to Hyoan, the Centre had multiple gardens, dining areas and bed rooms. It was literally a mansion for people to live in.

"Myungsoo, you should really follow me to the Centre. You will be given a chance to interact with the other people with disabilities or problems as well. Or also, you could even have your own free time there. Just follow me this once and I won't ask you to go again although I'm pretty sure that you would want to go there again. The place is really beautiful," Hyoan tried persuading Myungsoo. Myungsoo knew that Hyoan hyung only wanted him to go so that he wouldn't feel depressed and think about the past again. On the other hand, Myungsoo knew that nothing could stop him from thinking about his past as he had no good memories to reminiscence.

"Fine, fine. Just this once, hyung. Don't ever think about asking me to follow you to go to the Centre again," Myungsoo agreed half-heartedly. He definitely wanted to see this place of many compliments from Hyoan hyung but he also wanted his free time. Anyway, going to the Centre for a few hours wouldn't hurt, right?

"Okay then, I'll give you a few minutes to yourself to wash up and get ready," Hyoan made one last statement before leaving Myungsoo's room.

Myungsoo took his time washing up and when he was putting soap on his arm, his hand moved over the rough scars on his arms. I need to cover this up in order not to leave a bad impression on the others, he thought. As it was summer, it would be weird to wear long sleeves or a jacket. Eventually he settled on a bandana which covered half of his arm. Since the scars were on his inner arms, he decided that it would not be too hard to try to hide them.

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They reached the Centre in a jiffy. It was huge with many colourful plants and trees beautifying the place although it was indoors. White buildings which were part of the Centre surrounded the sides and in the middle of the Centre, there stood a huge fountain and a cherub spouting water. There were also a few indoor gardens, each garden was approximately as big as Myungsoo's own house. People were walking, strolling, sitting and doing other things which were forms of leisure activity. It seemed like a park. Although it was the first time being at the Centre, it all felt like home to Myungsoo. It was the most beautiful place he had ever seen.
"So... I'll leave you time to walk around the Centre, let's meet at five, arasso?" Hyoan said. Myungsoo nodded his head without a second thought. He was given three whole hours alone to explore this whole place. He could not help to wonder whether it was enough.

As he walked around, he found an outdoor garden which seemed as if there was nobody at all. That garden was quiet, only the swans in the pond were making noises. The small, round pond with water as clear as crystals seemed around 5 metres wide. Finally, a place to himself. He walked and walked, and spotted a bench to sit quite a distance away. However, the nearer he walked, there seemed to be something on the bench. Perhaps, it could be a bird or just his imagination. The nearer he walked, the more unconvinced he was that it was just his imagination. After walking another 10 metres, he finally found out what, or rather, who was on that bench.

It was a girl.