unseen . lee donghyuck

two

(the same day, after school)

third person pov

jihye trudged into the small apartment she lived in with her brother.

"how was school?" jaehyun asked the usual question.

"uneventful and tragic, why are you back so early?"

her older brother shrugged. "my shift's not until five."

jihye and jaehyun had moved out of their family's home a while ago - ever since their mother became abusive while drunk. just under a year ago their father died in a simple office fire, leaving their poor mother to provide for her two kids, with one hoping to attend university. their mother wasn't always abusive, she was lovely, really.

except that was when her drinking problem got serious. every day she consumed alcohol to numb her sorrows from the sudden loss of her husband, and she grew irritated and regularly violent. each morning she would wake up to see her bruised and batter children and broken glass scattered across the floor and couldn't bear to let them live with her.

jaehyun moved out with jihye, both pained as they realised their mother only wanted the best for them, but left herself behind to be beaten up by her own drunkenness. it had been like this for ten months now.

jaehyun had to drop out of college because of lack of funds, and no longer had the dream to graduate uni with a law degree now; his only focus was to provide money for the family and care for his younger sister. he knew he didn't have the money for college and would never be able to pay back student loans with his part time jobs.

jihye constantly felt that she was a burden but couldn't help but try to put the blame on her mother.

"was school really that uneventful, nothing happened?" jaehyun chuckled.

"well i guess something happened," jihye considered.

"you got detention," jaehyun said, not needing it to be asked as a question.

"yuppo."

"for..?"

jihye sighed. "i accidentally swore at the teacher."

jaehyun laughed. "that's a good one."

"some dickhead transferred to our class," she added, sighing out her stress as she flopped onto the small sofa beside her brother.

"who?"

"lee donghyuck or something, he's a pain in the ass - he thinks he can outdo my bitchiness," jihye rolled her eyes. jaehyun faked a gasp.

"he wouldn't!"

"he dared to!" jihye replied in the same shocked tone. "how's work going?"

jaehyun rubbed his eyes. "really draining my energy and testing my patience. honestly some customers can kindly skip into a sinkhole."

jihye suppressed a chuckle. "any updates on... her?"

jaehyun sighed. "don't act like you don't know her, she's your mother and deserves to be called mum."

"psshht okay."

jaehyun thought about how to answer her question. "she's... coping a little better but i think she needs to see a consellor."

"again? she did last time and you know it didn't work."

jaehyun cringed at the memory, and then checked the time on his phone.

"i gotta go, i'm meant to help out in the storage room before my shift starts," he notified her.

"seriously? don't you get paid for overtime work?" jihye asked, annoyed.

"nope but it's not like i can find a better paying job that'll accept me," jaehyun reasoned, then got up and took his bag with him, leaving for the convenience store he worked at. "see you."

jihye nodded a goodbye and sunk into the sofa. "ugh life sucks."

~

(one week later)

"listen up," mr shin addressed the rowdy class, they fell silent as they sensed the threat of an upcoming assignment.

"oh no, please don't be what i think he's gonna say," jihye mumbled under her breath to no one in particular, but donghyuck noticed her panicked expression.

"could it be?" donghyuck breathed to himself.

"you will be doing a literature assignment on the novel we are currently studying, it will be worth sixty percent of your semester mark," mr shin spoke the words the class dreaded to hear. all the students groaned.

"sixty percent? well i'm fucked i didn't even read the book," jihye swore. donghyuck scoffed, rolling his eyes.

"sir, is this an individual task?" huang renjun, a good student, asked.

"you will be partnered up with your desk partner," mr shin replied.

a series of 'yes!'s bounced around the classroom. donghyuck and jihye, however, were now having a total breakdown.

"noooo, sir! can i please switch partners?" donghyuck sucked up to mr shin. the teacher shook his head firmly. jihye slammed her forehead onto her desk.

"why does god hate me so much that he partnered me up with lee fricking donghyuck..." she asked a rhetorical question.

"yah, you're so lucky!" na jaemin whispered from the desk on the other side of the aisle. he leaned closer to jihye to whisper. "donghyuck's really smart, you'll be fine."

jihye looked up, asking 'really?' with her eyes. both jaemin and his desk partner lee jeno nodded in assurance.

"wish me luck then," she sighed.

"how long are you gonna continue talking to them like i don't exist?" donghyuck asked with his arms crossed. jihye whipped her head around.

"if i pay you ten dollars will you do the whole assignment for us?" she attempted to strike a deal.

"ten dollars? woah lemme think about that," donghyuck considered sarcastically. "heck to the no you gotta pay up fifty if you want me to do all of it."

he reached out his open palm, beckoning for money.

"bitch i ain't that rich," jihye stuck her nose up high. "twenty?"

"forty," donghyuck insisted.

"thirty-five," jihye tried.

"that's a deal."

"oh my god really?" jihye exclaimed, surprised he took her offer.

"ha BITCH YOU THOUGHT-" donghyuck laughed at her face. "no."

he smiled.

"fuckin asshole."

-----

whoopity whoop my sis writers' block finally decided to step aside

- gao an