𝐁𝐚𝐛𝐲 𝐈'𝐦 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬 | Jongsang

16) Distance

Yeosang woke up a bit earlier the next morning, hoping not to bump into his mother. He took a cold shower hoping it would help his aching body. The sun had yet to come up when he left the house. He knew it was too early to go to school but that's ok. He knew exactly where to go.

He called his cousin. "Hello?" "Hey Jae." "What are you doing up so early?" "I could be asking you the same thing." He sounded like he was already up before the call. "What did your mom do this time?" "Same shit plus smashing a glass against my head." "That's new. You ok?" "Well I'm better than last night." Yeosang tried laughing it off.

"You got the stuff?" "Just rolled up a new batch yesterday. I'll leave my door open for you ok?" "Ok. Thanks Jae." "No need to thank me." "Yea ok I'll see you in a few." Yeosang put some music on. He walked to his cousin's house.

When he got there he opened the door and went into the living room to see that Jaehyun was already smoking. "You started without me?" "Yup." Yeosang sat on the armchair and took a blunt from the coffee table. Jaehyun tossed him the lighter and Yeosang lit up the blunt. He took a swig.

Yeosang wasn't much of a smoker but if he had a really shitty day, he wouldn't mind getting high. "What happened this time?" "My mom found out about me and my boyfriend." "So that's why you haven't been visiting me." Yeosang laughed. "Yeah." "I feel bad for you man. But why would she go crazy over you for that?"

"I snuck out to talk to him last night." "What? Kang Yeosang sneaking out? You're such a rebel." "Oh shut up." Yeosang was glad that Jaehyun was trying to make light out of the situation. "Well you know if she ever becomes too much or kicks you out, you know where to go." Yeosang nodded, grateful to have such a person in his life.

"Wait is that your school uniform?" "Yeah." "You know the stench could get on your clothes Sangie." "I know." Yeosang could honestly care less. They sat there and smoked for a while. By the time they were finished the sun had rose and Yeosang had to go to school.

"Mind if I take some. I'll probably need it after school too." "Suit yourself." Jaehyun already had a little ziploc on the table waiting for him. Yeosang took some and stuffed it into his bag. "Well. I'll be on my way." "Alright Yeo. Let me know if you wanna come back." "I will. Bye Jae." He waved. "Bye." The door closed.

Yeosang pulled his hoodie over his head and walked to the bus stop. Luckily the bus didn't take that long. He rode the bus looking outside the window the whole time. He almost missed his stop because of zoning out. When he got off he went straight to his first class.

He put his head down and that's how it would be for every other class he went to.

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Everyone sat down at the lunch table, chatty as usual. "Yeosang where's your lunch tray?" "Didn't get one. Plus this lollipop will last me for the period." He said showing absolutely no emotion. "What happened to your head?" Oh shit. He didn't think about what he was going to say this morning.

"I uh- hit my head on the wall." "How the hell did that happen?" Mingi was curious. "I was rushing to get ready and ended up running into a wall." He tried his best to ignore the looks Wooyoung was giving him. God he was a bad liar.

"Well just be careful next time." "I will." Yeosang distracted himself by looking out the window. He couldn't wait to just get out of there but he didn't wanna go home either.

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Jongho was walking home with Wooyoung. What he didn't expect to see on his way was Yeosang smoking.

"Is that Yeosang hyung?" "Where?" "Look across the street." Wooyoung looked and it was indeed Yeosang. Wooyoung knew what this meant and it wasn't a good thing. Yeosang was slipping back into his old habits.

"Let's just um... keep walking." Wooyoung walked up a bit faster. He wanted to be able to catch Yeosang. Wooyoung walked Jongho home and luckily for him he was able to get to Yeosang before he got into his house.

"Yeosang!" Yeosang's head raised when he heard his name. "Oh hey Wooyoung." Yeosang smiled at him. "Cut the bullshit. What's going on with you?" "What are you talking about?" "Don't play dumb. I was walking Jongho home and saw you. Plus I know you were lying at lunch. I swear to god if your mo-" "Wooyoung just drop it ok? I'm fine I swear."

"There you go lying again! What's wrong Yeosang-ah, really." "Wooyoung you're pushing it. I told you it's nothing." "Doesn't seem like it." "Well it is so stop following me and go home." Yeosang walked into his house, leaving Wooyoung frozen in his spot.

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Yeosang had grown more distant and defensive over the days. Always denying things like what happened if he showed up to school hurt or why he smelt like smoke. Wooyoung wanted to do something so bad but he stayed in his place.

Yeosang did feel bad for treating his friends the way he did especially Jongho. They hadn't done anything wrong to him but his mother's words kept coming up in his mind. It stayed there like a stain that couldn't be removed, making him miserable.

It had brought him down so much that sometimes he was skipping classes. One time he didn't even go to lunch. He spent more time at Jaehyun's, hating being home. He even started drinking from time to time and his insomnia didn't do him any better.

Yeosang really was falling apart and all his friends wanted to do was help him but he wouldn't allow them to. If he felt like he was a burden to his mother imagine how he would feel if his friends got involved with him.

He started going out less whether Jongho would be there or not. He got more bold and started talking back to his mother. Every week he would show up to school with new bruises or scratches. He just didn't care. He thought that if he kept this up he'd get kicked out in no time and just move in with Jaehyun.

Yeosang had even gotten a lip piercing and dyed his hair black. He said that the color he had would hold memories and he didn't want that. He started going to the gym more and it was clearly showing. He gained some muscle and people weren't starting to see him the same.

The worse part of this was that he didn't know how bad he was hurting Jongho. Jongho had cried because Yeosang was acting like this. He missed him a lot and didn't know what was happening. He started blaming this on himself.

Everyone felt like Yeosang was a whole other person and there was nothing they could do.