Chapter 6

Hyunjin woke up groggily. Felix was right, going to sleep and the cold milk did help. The headache wasn't completely gone, but it was better now. He looked at the time, it was 7 already. It didn't really feel like he slept for four hours after reaching home. Hyunjin sighed remembering Felix's efforts to talk with him as Hyunjin looked at both of his rings on his hand. It felt good to feel human again. Hyunjin had started to feel like he didn't exist. Or as if he was stuck in a nightmare loop.

An alarm rung on his phone reminding him to get ready for the gala he was supposed to go tonight with his father. Hopefully everything would go well. His father occasionally took Hyunjin to galas and charity events to get Hyunjin used to being with the 'higher class people'. His father was getting wealthier with time.

Lee Know and Felix were good with numbers. Felix could remember numbers as if he had Google in his head, just much more faster and advanced. Lee Know was more on the analytical and statistics side. Hyunjin's father was an international art dealer, and Lee Know liked to measure it with numbers. Hyunjin would sneak information and files regarding profits and loses so Lee Know could analyze and make patterns. It was all fun, and it wasn't wrong because his father always said it was public knowledge. Only some days, Hyunjin would accidently find information that was not public knowledge. Lee Know and Hyunjin had soon made patterns of increasing profits that could not have been possible. They had kept it a secret of course, they could be wrong.

They had to be wrong.

Because if they were right, not only was Hyunjin's father in some shady business, but they were also in trouble for figuring it out.

It doesn't matter anymore though. Becuase Hyunjin was alone. Lee Know left him. Hyunjin didn't think best friends turned their backs on you, but apparently, they did for Hyunjin. Now Hyunjin was covering up his bruises and hiding his metaphorical wounds. Wearing his expensive suit bought for occasions like these and putting make-up on his face. Combing his black hair and trimming them short. A little bit of cologne because he was sure his father wouldn't notice.

When Hyunjin felt like he looked perfect, he worked on his homework. English was eating up his head. How does one pronounce strength, and psychology, and rendezvous. And what did 'yatch' even mean? The worst problem was, the alphabets 'r' and 'l'. In Korean, both of them sound similar as they are one alphabet. So when Hyunjin once pronounced 'rust' as 'lust', his teacher gave him detention. Not that Hyunjin knew why until Bang Chan told him next class. He actively avoided using words like those, because being laughed at by a whole class about something he didn't know was something Hyunjin didn't want to repeat.

-

Meanwhile,

Lee Know and Jisung had gotten carried away after talking about their lives in general, school, Hyunjin, and Hyunjin and Han's twisted parents that they totally didn't deserve.

Han said, "Finally! Someone is walking like they aren't going to die this instant." Lee Know frowned, "What do you mean?"

Han sighed, "I know you have a lot to deal with. But try and live in the present. Everything is fine. evrything is beautiful. Look, the stars are almost out. It's not every night you can see the stars. The moon, it's reflection is in almost all the windows and it looks so new. Look at our shadows, they look so bold. Take a deep breath, can you smell that? It smells like it just rained but it hasn't rained for a month. I can even smell the food from that Indian restaurant there. It smells so heavenly. Then there's the footpath. Look at all those different coloured boxes. All of them are cool shades. Then there are people around us, it feels like a celebration is coming. There's that small family sitting in their yard and star-gazing."

Lee Know was speechless. Han was right. And it was beautiful. How had he never noticed how beautiful his neighbourhood was? Lee Know smiled and looked at Han, whose eyes shone with the moonlight.

Han skipped from box to box on the footpath and spun around, enjoying the cold breeze. Lee Know observed. The silent chatter, the noisy vehicles, the sound of crickets, it was all so beautiful. Han was beautiful.

Lee Know hid his smile looking serious and said, "You know what I noticed? Here, now, in this present? Something that I find so amazing and breathtaking?" Han looked at Lee Know, eyes filled with curiosity and a small smile on his face.

"You."

-

Hyunjin and his father were driving back from the gala. Hyunjin had stayed quiet as he was told to, and he tried his best to be invisible in an event where he couldn't hide. Although his father was still furious. Hyunjin didn't know what he did wrong, but he was already afraid of the consequences.

"You looked skittish today." His father said calmly.

Hyunjn gulped and said quietly, "I didn't notice."

His father turned the car sharply and drove faster, "You sure? Because about four very important people asked me if you were alright. I had to come up with things to say. Do you know how embarrassing that was?!" Hyunjin's breathing became faster as his father drove faster, going far past the speed limit.

His father took another sharp turn, making Hyunjin grip his seat tight and whimper, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to."

His father chuckled, "You sound scared."

Hyunjin shook his head. His father said, "You always love to fail people. First your mother. Than your brother. Your best friend. Are you planning to disappoint me too?"

Hyunjin's breath caught. Everything slowed down. Not because of what his father said, but because of what he saw. Lee Know and Han. On the street, crossing the road, both of them laughing and talking. Hyunjin screamed for his father to stop, who was busy shouting.

His father drove faster.