Dark to Baby: A Changjin Story

Chapter 29

Hyunjin lied.  

He couldn't help it. He was too worried. The lie just slipped out.

It would have been true in any other situation, but considering how he was halfway through his window, now was not one of those times.

He left his homework on his bed, math book open to the last problem, actually proud of himself for finishing a decent amount of the work before dinner. This way if his mother checked his room it would look like he was only in the bathroom or something. Taehyuk had confirmed that he would keep quiet about the whole thing, so Hyunjin was confident he would get away with it.

He ducked under the open window, gripping the sil with both hands before swinging his other leg over the edge. The horizontal siding on Hyunjin's house held his feet in place as he started the unstable descent to the ground. However, the farther down he got, the farther the siding pulled away from the house. Hyunjin tightened his grip to the wall as his feet searched for safe places to reside. His breath was shallow in his chest and his jaw tensed in exertion. The siding groaned loudly when Hyunjin lowered his foot. The sound made him cease voluntary movement, but there was nothing to stop the fear raking through his body in the form of visible shakes.

Glancing around, he realized there was no way out. He didn't want to alert his mother, so Hyunjin chose the fastest solution. He pushed off.

His legs caught most of the fall, but he still had to use his hands to steady himself. The whole experience left Hyunjin sitting on the ground, holding his wrists and shaking them out to ensure there were no broken bones. After taking a few deep breaths to calm his nerves, Hyunjin hoisted himself up. He stayed close to the house, crouching down until he made it to the front. He glanced at the living room window to see the flickering lights of the TV before sprinting through the shadows towards the street.

He continued to sprint down the road, keeping his ears tuned in. He was sure he heard his mother yell a few times, but by now he couldn't even see his house, so he just assumed it was his imagination.

He slowed to a stop in front of Felix's trailer. His hands found his knees, his torso heaving as he took in copious amounts of air. His head got in front of his body and he stumbled forward. After regaining his balance, he kept his head between his knees and ran his hands through his hair. He wrinkled his nose at the sensation of sticky sweat on his forehead, thankful for the light breeze.

Eventually he felt recovered enough to lift his head and continue his journey. His legs burned from the prior exertion and his steps were heavy, but despite the adversity, Hyunjin pressed on.

He stayed on the edge of the road, trying his best to avoid the ditch even with his uncertain footsteps. A few cars passed by him, but most people were home with their families at 7 pm, so he didn't have to worry about that much.

As the sun dipped below the horizon, Hyunjin trudged down Changbin's driveway and knocked on the door to the little, blue house. A pattering of feet and rolling wheels were heard before the door was thrown open and two childlike faces yelled Changbin's name excitedly.

"Uh, Hi?" The real child of the two, a girl who looked to be about eight-years-old with straight, black hair and a face shape very similar to Changbin's, turned quickly and ran away.

"Minsoo!" Felix called after her, then sighed at the sound of a door slamming, "I thought you weren't coming."

"Changed my mind." Hyunjin leaned down and examined Felix's face. The purple around his eyes was the most obvious thing as the scratches had healed enough to not be concerning and the other bruises were covered by his hoodie until he squirmed and moved the fabric, "you look alright."