The Boy Next Door | Taegyu ✔️

26*

By the time they have finished their analysis, it was already 7:23 pm. Beomgyu, who had lost track of time, sped out of the library, explaining to Taehyun how his father did not like him coming home late. Before Taehyun even got the chance to ask Beomgyu what he had meant, the latter had already left the library.

Running as fast as his legs could carry him, Beomgyu sprinted towards his house, stopping by a convenience store on the way since he figured that he would need something to eat for dinner at the very least. After paying for a box of cold bento and storing it in his bag, he continued to run in the direction of his neighbourhood.

Beomgyu reached his "home" in no time, taking in a deep breath as he stepped inside. To his surprise, his father was nowhere in sight in the living room.

Still apprehensive of his surroundings, Beomgyu made his way upstairs towards his room, opening the door to be instantly greeted by his father's palm across the side of his face.

"Where were you?" He asked.

"I was in the school library, studying with my friends―"

"Friends?" His father sneered. "Don't you dare lie to me."

"I am not lying, sir," Beomgyu spoke, a sudden feeling of anger surging through him. To his trepidation,  a firm slap was delivered to the side of his cheek.

"FRIENDS?" His father scoffed. "Tell me, who would want to be friends with a messed up child like you?"

Beomgyu didn't reply. His father's words pierced through him as deep as a knife. There were many times where Beomgyu would often ask himself why Taehyun would even want to be friends with a loner like him in the first place. The fact that his very own father brought it up only made Beomgyu feel worse than he already was.

"ANSWER ME!" He bellowed, his voice loud enough for Beomgyu to feel the ground shake. Hot tears were stinging his eyes as he fought the urge to punch him at that very moment. He would never let himself cry in front of that man if his life depended on it, but this was different. Beomgyu felt furious at the fact that his own father was talking foully about the only person who genuinely cared for him. Taehyun has shown Beomgyu happiness. Far more than his father has ever offered him.

But then again, he couldn't help but have the feeling that his father was right; he was a burden to the people around him―to people like Taehyun.

"I-I don't know," Beomgyu spoke shakily. A million thoughts were racing through his mind, all asking the same daunting question as his father.

"You only serve as a burden to the people around you," he spoke, placing extra emphasis on the word as he looked without the slightest bit of remorse in Beomgyu's current crippled state. The boy was on his knees, his head hanging low as tears fell onto his shirt.

He delivered a slap right across the boy's cheek before leaving the room. Waterfalls of tears were streaming down Beomgyu's cheeks as he found it hard to breathe properly. The pain he felt was immense, serving far more than a slap across his face. His father's words rang through his mind over and over again, making Beomgyu feel disgusted with himself as he sat there, questioning his self-worth while crying his eyes out.

Taehyun watched the boy from afar through his bedroom window; his heart sank at the sight of Beomgyu in pain. He wanted to run up to his house at that very moment, to hug him, to tell him that everything is going to be fine. But he knew better than to do that after knowing that it was, once again, that horrible man who made Beomgyu cry.

Instead, Taehyun sat there helplessly, watching Beomgyu cry as a painful feeling rested in his heart.