Alone {𝕄𝕀ℕ𝕊𝕌ℕ𝔾}

Chapter Twenty-Four

JISUNG STUFFED HIS HANDS IN HIS POCKETS; HE'D LINGERED AROUND FELIX'S HOME EVEN hours after all the guests had left; he still felt as though he smelt of alcohol, and lord knew how that would go down if his parents found out.

He'd taken a shower and washed his clothing, brushing his hair and splashing water across his face. He felt refreshed, although the question of how he'd gotten into Minho's room still lingered at the back of his mind.

He pushed open the door to his house quietly – although it was already late into the afternoon – and took off his shoes. He felt beyond exhausted, and just wanted to plop down on his bed and pass out like any normal teenager.

Just as he moved to start up the stairs, his mother called him from the living room. He groaned silently before redirecting his tired feet towards his mother. When he got there, both his father and mother were seated on the couch, faces serious and intimidating.

"Yes, Mom?" he asked quietly, and she motioned for him to sit on the chair on the other side of the coffee table from them. He nervously took his seat, and waited with bated breath for them to explain why he was there.

"We received a letter of concern from your science teacher," his father began abruptly, and the strawberry blonde's heart sank to his stomach. He thought he'd have a few more weeks to right his falling grades.

He swallowed thickly and clasped his hands tightly together, directing his gaze towards the floor. He knew where this was going. "How could you be so careless, Jisung!" he shouted, and the boy flinched slightly, biting his lip.

It wasn't that he hadn't tried; he just didn't get it. "Do you want to end up like your sister?" he growled, and the boy's eyes widened. His hand clenched into a fist, and he averted his eyes. "Living on the streets like the worthless piece of trash she is?" He closed his eyes, harshly biting down on his lip.

"Do you want to be a disgrace?" His eyes shot open and he quickly jumped to his feet. He held his breath for a moment, his anger waning. "She was great," he whispered, his fists slowly unclenching.

"She's... not a disgrace. There's nothing wrong with being–" He was cut off when his head whirled to the side, his cheek stinging. His mouth hung open, eyes wide as he tried to process what had just happened.

His mother stood a few feet away, her hand slowly returned to her side. "How could you ever say such a thing, Jisung?" she questioned, eyes narrowed into a tight glare before they widened. "Are you – are you... gay?" she gasped indignantly.

"W-What? No!" he defended quickly, his heart heavy with dread. Liar. "Your teacher has agreed to give you an extra project to make up for lost marks. Don't waste this opportunity, Jisung." His father glared, unperturbed by what had just happened.

He bowed his head and nodded slowly, before hurrying up the stairs and into his room. As soon as the door closed behind him, he allowed his tears to fall freely down his face. He stumbled over to his bed, and sank into the comfort his thick blanket provided him.

The fact that his mother had slapped him, however, hurt more than the painful sting in his cheek ever could.

~#~#~#~#~#~

"I'm so glad you've taken this initiative, Mr. Han," his teacher smiled easily at him, but the strawberry blonde haired boy couldn't bring himself to force a smile in return. "Thank you, sir," he ground out, although he'd originally had no intention of thanking his teacher for anything. His father had warned him that he better thank his teacher for being so gracious.

He knew he was just looking for someone to blame, and, unfortunately, his teacher fell right under the limelight. He kept his head bowed as he hurried out of the classroom. He already had a feeling that the day would be just awful.

~#~#~#~#~#~

"Uhh, Jisung, are you alright?" Felix questioned lowly, exchanging a worried glance with Hyunjin as the strawberry-blonde pushed his food around in his plate. He nodded tersely, before going back to his previous mindless activity.

Everyone at their table had noticed the change in the usually cheerful boy's demeanour, and his two closest friends were undoubtedly concerned. Even when he was sad, Han Jisung always wore a smile.

Whatever it was that was bothering him, it had to be big. 

A/N: Thank you all so much for 4k+ reads I don't deserve this I swear I'll try harder to update more often I've been going through some stuff lately and it's (hopefully) over and done with now >~<

This was a really awkward place to end the chapter but -- I realized that I accidentally didn't save half the chapter so I had to rewrite it uGHASJDASKLDJA:SLDKJASD

Q: What's your favourite part about Christmas?

A: A l l o f i t . I'm such a festive person it's not even funny -- just the atmosphere of the holidays makes me all warm and fuzzy and happy (expect a oneshot, it's probably gonna happen).

Lots of love,

~Junnie