"Jeongguk!" The said man massaged his temples tiredly as his mother was having a fit beside his father.
"Mother it was one necklace please. You never even wore it." He mumbled. His father glared at him.
"Fix your posture." The man snapped. Jeongguk sat up straight immediately, his face turning into that familiar blank stare.
"Don't worry dear, I'll purchase another for you... even finer than the ones before." He cooed as she sniffled. Jeongguk internally scoffed.
They really should be worried over how the thief got inside in the first place but no.
He remembered seeing a small figure crouching over his mother's vanity desk as he passed the door. It had turned into probably the most comically break in.
The thief had literally thrown his mother's powder box into his face and scampered off. He had run after her, well after he had gained his sight back.
They had the most complicated window system for security but it turned out to be useless.
He signed as he left the living room and walked up the grand staircase.
The last thing the boy wanted to do was take over the wretched family business. Something about them running some large brand for clothes.
He had to wear that crap everyday.
Jeongguk wanted to run, and keep on running until he couldn't see an ounce of that pathetic London city. He wanted to run until all he saw was countryside and green fields, something he never got to see except on TV. He wanted to sprint until he tasted actual fresh air. Jeongguk wanted nothing to do with anyone here. The man had no friends. He wasn't allowed distractions as his parents called them.
He reached his room, looking at the full walls. Pictures of himself as a child were there, his younger self smiling widely with his parents with three gold medals for taekwondo. Another was when he starting boxing and he won his first belt. His graduation from high school was not his proudest moment, Jeongguk grimaced as he looked at his awkward, acne covered face. Prom was also there, although he didn't have a date so he went by himself and had fun on the rooftop with a plate of cookies he stole from the buffet.
He stroked the frames softly, as he grew older he looked sadder, he realised. His university degree in business graduation photo was his least favourite. He looked like he did now, but he hair was shorter and his undercut less prominent. Top of his class with his parents smiling smugly on either side of him, their perfect son graduating one year earlier due to his grades.
He scoffed and then went into his bathroom where he had shoved his guitar when his mother had burst in his room yesterday. He didn't want her to see it or she would take it away. It was his pride and joy, a beautiful black ebony wood with golden strings.
He tweaked it lovingly, smiling as he strummed the cords happily. He remembered when he received it as a gift from Tyler, his butler. The man had raised Jeongguk through his adolescence, encouraging him when his exams drove him to tears or when his father yelled at him when he quit boxing.
Tyler had appeared on the night of his 19th birthday with the present, a bored looking Jeongguk surrounded by suits and expensive watches from his parents, he himself in a suit that he was forced to wear on his birthday.
Jeongguk smiled as he remembered how Tyler had handed him his present, telling him that he could learn if he wanted and that he could just enjoy learning it instead of being forced to. Jeongguk had smiled so widely and embraced the man, towering over the old man now.
Jeongguk smiled softly as he played a soft tune, the gentle twangs lighting a small warm flame inside him. His fingers pulled gently at the wires as he continued to play, muscle memory aiding in his peaceful sounds.
He then thought about the thief from yesterday. She. It was a she, he knew from her black hair and small figure. She looked thin and fragile, her pale arms however could move quickly and she was smart, he realised with how she had managed to do the latch when even he himself struggled.
He wondered where she was now. She hadn't been caught yet, as far as he knew since his mother was still writing a list of what she wanted to replace what was stolen.
The escape, he admits, was amusing. Despite the dirt of her clothes and the knots in her hair, there was more life in her eyes than he thought he would see.
Life.
Jeongguk longed for a life without riches, at least where he could find small joys and experience actual happiness like he found with Tyler and the guitar.
"Master Jeongguk." Tyler knocked on the other side of the door. Jeongguk grinned widely and rushed to open the door.
"Stop~" Jeongguk whined, but he smiled anyway.
Tyler smiled up at the young man who was grinning widely. "Can we?" He asked excitedly, his nose scrunching up and his front teeth sticking out.
"Of course. Your parents are leaving to go shopping. You can go out Jeongguk but remember to come back by 5. Please don't be late. Last time was a close call." He signed in worry.
"I know Ty but I'll be alright. I actually know where to go this time. No wandering I promise." He smiled as Tyler ruffled his hair playfully.
"Now go! Have some fun." Jeongguk hugged him tightly then rushed into his large closet room and grabbed a pair of jeans and a white t-shirt. He ripped off his Rolex and took a bucket hat then ran towards his window.
He climbed down the side pipe and landed on the grass safely.
"Time for a fucking Big Mac or I'll die." Jeongguk grinned as he ran towards the woods up ahead, heading for the hole in the wall at the back.
~E
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