district 9 \\ stray kids

one

jisung wasn't sure why he even bothered.

all his life, he worked hard to make his parents proud. he studied so much, that he often got no more than half an hour or sleep, just so that he could go to high school, instead of the local secondary school, where he was sure he would get beat up. once he got offered the scholarship, he would spend all his time doing schoolwork.

in middle school, he had 2 friends who he wrote songs with, but that ended once he moved to the other end of the country. now, he had no time for his passion, he had to study hard when in school, and work hard during the summer so that he could go to college.

college was a whole other story. jisung didn't even want to be a doctor, he knew for sure that he would end up working in the local clinic, and everyone who worked there looked so miserable. he didn't want to end up like that.

just when jisung thought that nothing would even change, he got sick. so sick, that he couldn't keep his eyes focused long enough to read one sentence. with studying but an option anymore, all he could do was lie in one of the uncomfortable beds in his school's infirmary and think for a whole two weeks.

he thought a lot about his life during that time, eyes barely open, every cell in his body begging him to give in and sleep. but he stayed awake and imagined what his life would look like if he hadn't gotten the scholarship offer. would he have stayed friends with chan and changbin? or would they have drifted apart anyways? they probably hate me now.

that led him to think about his old friends, how they spent every lunchtime in their school's shitty music room, barely big enough to fit the the of them, a very out of tune piano and a guitar. they would write songs, have fun and laugh.

god, jisung couldn't even remember the last time he laughed. that's absolutely pathetic, he thought to himself before drifting off again.

once he got better, it was like jisung was a different person. he still studied all day, and when it came to the day of the college entrance exams he worked his ass off all of exam week, but his heart wasn't in it anymore. not that it ever truly was, however now the boy was sure that he didn't want to live like this anymore.

the first thing his mother asked him when she opened the door was how his exams went. jisung's heart broke for the first time that day. the last time he really saw his parents was spring break the previous year, as they sent him to an all summer cram school, and they insisted he stays in school over the winter and spring break to study.

and now, here he was, over a year and a half later, his battered suitcase at his side, exhausted from the long journey, he almost got lost 3 times on the way over from the train station because he couldn't remember which way to go, his neck was sore from attempting to sleep in the uncomfortable train seat for two days, and all he wanted was a warm meal and some sleep.

he also wanted to put off telling his parents the news for as long as possible, but he guessed that was off the table.

"they went fine" jisung mumbled vaguely.

"han jisung, we haven't spent every last penny on your education for you to talk like an uneducated idiot." han minyung almost snarled, and jisung said goodbye to sleep. "which colleges did you get into."

"that's the thing mother," the brunette said, avoiding his mother's gaze and mumbled, "i didn't."

"speak up, you insolent boy!" she was truly almost shouting now, and she looked how jisung imagined boudicca looked when she led her people against the romans. "how could you not have gotten in, when you studied so much!"

"they must have not liked my essay, you know that those are the deciding factor." the boy was now actually trembling with fear.

"so you wrote a bad essay, huh? after all those classes, you attended one of the best high schools in gaisen, and you wrote a bad fucking essay?" the woman was furious, and jisung was surprised none of the neighbors had heard. or, maybe, they were just used to his mother's explosive behaviour.

"they're very specific with who they accept. it's not that it was bad, they just didn't like it. it's like books, you can appreciate the fact that the author is good at what he does, but the book just isn't your type. just because i don't like your chicken soup doesn't mean you're a bad cook." jisung trailed off at the end, seeing the way his mother was looking at him. if lasers had shot out of her eyes and killed him on the spot, he wouldn't even have been surprised.

"go unpack you brat. your father will be back from work soon, and i'm sure he won't be as easy going as me when he finds out how much of a disappointment you are."

his bedroom looked the same as it did the last time he was at home. there was a fresh light gray duvet on his bed, his guitar in the corner of the room, very dusty. the view from his window was still tragic. through the dirty glass pane he could see the brick wall of the apartment building next to his, about half a meter away. at least the builders had a braincell and there was no window opposite his.

jisung was hanging up his last sweater when he heard the door open, and his heart almost stopped. he smoothed out his t-shirt with shaking hands and walked out of his room just as "jisung, your father's home" reached his ears.

i hope you enjoyed that! i really hope that any readers do comment to leave feedback and if you have any questions.

if there is any ships or side characters you want me to include then let me know! i'm always up for suggestions.

constructive criticism is always appreciated <3

i actually decided that i will actually write this today, so sorry if it's a bit rushed.

once i'm done with the book i think i will go through all the chapters to edit, unless my writing style changes so much that i can't even read this anymore.

stay safe!

- your local bi mess