Vendetta

Chapter 9

An almost heavenly light poured through the wide-open door, bathing the living room in a warm, white light. Jeongin inched towards the opening before pausing. Both their parents and Chan had thoroughly warned them never to leave the house. The outside world held dangers beyond anyone's wildest imagination and that if they ever left home, they would never return. Thinking back at it, Jeongin couldn't imagine anyone possibly being more dangerous than Chan himself.

    For a moment, he considered telling his siblings and sneaking out with them, but if he got caught, he didn't want to drag anyone else into it. Jeongin's entire body trembled as he neared the light that gently soaked into his skin, filling him with a warmth he had never experienced before. Once he went outside, there was no turning back. However, he had long since made his decision.

    Jeongin stepped out of the front door, closing it gently behind him. He was careful not to close it all the way, but he left a gap just small enough so that no one would notice but he could still get back in. Once Jeongin was outside, he tilted his head towards the sky, shielding his eyes against the light. Something he couldn't look at glimmered against the blue sky tinged with orange. He had no other word to describe it but breathtaking.

    A few feet away from the house was a road that appeared to extend as far as the eye could see. Standing at the edge of the road, Jeongin looked back to truly see the house he had lived in all his life for the first time. The house was cottage-like with gray siding that was missing in more than one location. The roof seemed in danger of caving into their bedrooms and the entire house leaned precariously to the right. What he had never noticed was that the windows were boarded up with graffitied wood, blocking their view of the outside world.

    Making a mental map of where he was, Jeongin journeyed away from the very place he called home. He didn't get far before his legs started to ache and he felt like his chest would explode. Pushing through the pain, he eventually made his way to an area filled with gigantic buildings that made him feel as tiny as an ant.

    The cool breeze felt wonderful against his skin, his senses being filled with new sounds, sights, and smells. Instead of feeling overwhelmed, it felt almost intoxicating to him. Vehicles sped by so quickly that Jeongin couldn't take in what they looked like, holding onto the roar the engine made. By the side of the road, people sold fruit and other homemade items on stands or on a blanket, smiling at pedestrians as they passed by.

    Large signs advertised products and services that Jeongin had trouble reading. As he approached a particularly colorful sign, he would peer into the building to see if he could make out what was inside. There was a building where if someone pushed open the door, a mouth-watering aroma would fill the air and disappear a few seconds after the door closed behind them. In another, books lined shelves that nearly touched the ceiling with every genre imaginable.

    Despite all the unfamiliar things he was experiencing, his favorite were the people. People of many different shapes and sizes walked by him, no one looking identical to the last. For years, he believed that he and his family were the only people in the world, and yet Chan had always known there were thousands more out there. A spike of fury cut through his elation. Why would Chan withhold this wonder from them?

    It didn't take him long to realize that the people passing him always shot him strange looks. Mothers steared their children to the opposite side of the sidewalk, and other people shot him disgusted glances. In a glass display, he made out his reflection, trying to figure out why everyone was reacting in such a way. Now that he had something to compare himself to, he looked far worse than he thought.

    His flesh was sunk deep into his cheek bones and was stretched tight across his skull. Though visible shadows of good looks showed through, Jeongin resembled more of a skeleton than a living human being. Throughout his body, his skin was so translucent that one could visibly see his bones shifting beneath the paper thin flesh. On top of that, his clothes looked more like rags than actual clothing.

    How come he had never realized he looked like that? Despite his efforts to fight them back, tears of shame and embarrassment slid down his face faster than he could wipe them away. Through a film of tears, Jeongin could see someone approaching him through the reflection in the glass display. Without thinking, Jeongin started to walk away, thinking that he was blocking the person's path, but they kept following. Eventually, they caught up to him and tapped his shoulder, the slight touch nearly making Jeongin jump a mile as he turned to see what they wanted.

    "Sorry for scaring you. My name's Wooyoung," the stranger said with a genuine smile, holding his hand out for Jeongin to shake but he didn't take it. "Don't tell anyone, but I snuck out of summer school and I'm bored as all hell. Anyway, you seem nice enough so I was wondering if you wanted to grab something to eat? That is if you promise not to kill me."

    Jeongin raised an eyebrow at the stranger, wondering why Wooyoung was even bothering with him. "I promise. But...why are you talking to me?"

    Wooyoung shrugged. "Boredom can lead you to do crazy things. Plus, I can't place my finger on it, but you look familiar to me. Oh, and don't worry about paying."

    Jeongin followed as Wooyoung began to
walk away, fighting the urge to run home. While he knew he couldn't stay out long, he didn't dare turn down the opportunity to get food. He thought about bringing some home for Jisung, but he wasn't sure if it would last. Though he didn't trust Wooyoung in the slightest, he didn't think the student had bad intentions. Though, he did once feel that way about Chan.

    Once they were seated in the restaurant, Wooyoung immediately began reading through the menu, occasionally peering up at him over the edges of the paper. Jeongin, on the other hand, struggled to read the options. The menu swarmed with words he didn't know the meaning of. To him, everything he read was nonsense.

    "Can you not read?" Wooyoung asked, realizing at Jeongin's angry expression that he had crossed a line. "I'm sorry, that was rude to ask. Would you like me to order for you? I come here often so I think I know what the good stuff is."

    With Jeongin's permission, Wooyoung ordered an item that he proceeded to rave about. The raving transformed into stories about his friends and school life. While Jeongin clinged to every word and would gladly have listened to him talk for hours, he couldn't help but feel a pang of envy at the things Wooyoung had done that he never would experience. The student was wonderful in attempting to include Jeongin in the monologue, but Jeongin had no life experiences to share besides the shenanigans he and his siblings got into.

    When the food arrived steaming hot at their table, Jeongin immediately dug in, not realizing how hungry he was until all of his food was gone and Wooyoung was barely halfway finished. Chan's cooking was delicious, but it didn't even compare to the quality of what he just ate. Of course, he would never admit it to Chan's face.

    "Did you even taste any of that?" Wooyoung laughed, staring at Jeongin's empty plate with wide eyes.

    "I did, believe it or not," Jeongin replied, feeling for a second that he might have just made his very first friend. Glancing over the table at Wooyoung's watch, he caught sight of the time and jumped up so quickly he nearly knocked his chair over. "My brother is going to be home soon. Thank you so much for the food!"

    Without waiting for a reply, Jeongin rushed out of the restaurant, his stomach full for the first time he could remember. Chan wouldn't be home for another three hours, but it took him an hour to get from the house to the city. While he still had time to explore and maybe even grow closer to Wooyoung, there were other things he needed to do. Besides, it was best not to have grown attached to the student since they would never meet again.

    He still felt awful for leaving Wooyoung without even telling him his name after the kind thing the student had done for him, but exposing Chan for the monster he really was, was his top priority.