Letters and Roses: Taegyu

13

(EDITED)
Taehyun pulls out his keys and opens the front door of his house. The whole house was quiet and dark which was expected. The injured boy enters and lays his bag near the door.

He pulls himself towards the stairs and takes a deep breath before starting to walk up the long staircase. Taehyun could hear the small thuds of his crutches hitting the smooth wooden floor. His movements are slow but he finally reaches the top. The boy continues to move down the long dark hallway, he sees a small dim light coming from one of the rooms to the side.

He walks slowly trying to minimize the sound he was making. Taehyun walks towards the door and peeks his head inside.

His father was sitting down on a desk with a pile of papers in front of him. The brown-haired boy walks past the door as quickly as he could go to go unnoticed. "Taehyun..."

Taehyun could feel his heart drop in his chest as he holds tightly on his crutches. "Yes, father?" Taehyun answers back but doesn't bother to turn around. He hoped his father didn't see him in this state and just let him go to his room.

"Come here" he could feel the coldness of his voice send shivers down his spine. Taehyun sighs softly and turns around walking inside the room. The glare on his father's face was like being stuck by an arrow. His eyes were like looking into the dark depths of the Pacific Ocean.

"What happened to you?" His father asks with a sharp tone in his voice.

Taehyun lowers his head, he could feel his heart beating aggressively against his chest. The young boy stays silent as his ears start to ring, he feels a heavy and suffocating pressure on his throat as he hears the low-pitched steps of his father.

The room suddenly because cold as goosebumps start to grow on his pale skin. "I- I just sprained my ankle, I- it will heal quickly, it's not a big deal," Taehyun says stuttering.

The room remained quiet while his father stepped closer. His father places his hand on Taehyun's neck slowly traveling to his hair, he grips on it softly. This gesture wasn't aggressive but it was clear his father was trying to send a sign towards his son, and this signal was composed to not be so calm all the time.

"Did I by chance...raise you to be weak?" His father whispers. Taehyun shakes his head, the grip on his hair becomes tight as he winces in pain.

"Use.your.words" The middle-aged man says harshly.

"No father, you didn't raise me to be weak" Taehyun responds almost instantly. The grip lessens once again, "you are lucky you are already hurt, or else you would be way worse than this" his father comments pushing him against the wall.

Fortunately, Taehyun catches himself by holding onto his crutches. His father walks back to his desk and sits down putting his black-framed glasses back on. "You are dismissed, get out of my sight," Mr.Kang says coldly.

"Yes sir" Taehyun replies bowing his head towards his superior father before turning around and walking out of the room. He could feel light tears urging to come out, he heads towards his room as quickly as possible.

Once he reaches his room, he locks his door and throws his crutches to the side as he sits in the corner of the darkroom. He didn't even bother turning on the lights, he could hear the small ticking of the water dropping against his window.

Once alone he lets the dueling tears abandon his eyes. The broken boy reaches over his table stand and takes the picture frame from the top. He presses his thumb against the small white pale face of his beautiful mother.

Taehyun presses the frame against his chest.

"Why?" Taehyun cries out in silence. "Why did you have to leave? Why mother?".