Street Cred

Chapter 38

Much quicker than expected, Byeol felt the car stop moving and looked over at Jeongin to see a smile on his face. Without speaking, he got out and opened Byeol's door, taking her small hand in his as he led them to wherever he was taking them.

"The park? Really?" Byeol looked up at the tall boy and raised an eyebrow.

He chuckled and looked down as he spoke. "Yes really. You'll see why, here." Just then, Jeongin veered off of the path and headed into the trees, pulling Byeol behind him.

Realization flashed across her face and she sucked in a breath. "The river!"

"Yep! I figured it'd be a nice place to be for a while." The sight of the river greeted the couple as they made it to the rocks. Jeongin led them over to a big rock and sat down, gently bringing Byeol with him. He pulled her back and into his chest, wrapping his arms around her waist and laying his head on her shoulder.

Byeol smiled and snuggled further into Jeongin, enjoying his comforting presence. A few minutes passed and neither teen spoke. Despite the shitty circumstances surrounded her, they all washed away when she was in his embrace. His intoxicating scent calmed her nerves as she breathed it in. The silence was oddly comforting as well. The only noise coming from the river flowing beneath them and the occasional conversation between birds above them.

"Jeongin?" Byeol's voice was soft.

"Hmm?"

"Thank you for bringing me here. I really needed it."

"I know," Jeongin leaned forward and kissed Byeol's neck, tightening his hold on her waist in a comforting manner. "You just have too much going on, you needed a break. And you know, I asked Minki and Jisung to get Hana, so we can be here as long as you want. We can talk about everything if you want.."

A moment of silence passed before Byeol responded. She turned in Jeongin's arms so that she could see his face and a small smile appeared on her face.

"I'd like that Innie."

He returned the smile and leaned forward, placing a kiss on her lips. "Just let me know if you want to stop okay?"

Byeol nodded her head and laid back onto Jeongin's chest as she took in a shaky breath.

"So, my father has been disappointed in me since my birth. He was hoping for a son to take care of his business later in life, but instead got me. It wasn't that big of a deal because they would just try for another child. But," Byeol let out a dry chuckle, "as luck would have it, my mom got sick and something happened to where she can no longer have children. My father blamed me, so now he had two things to hate me for. Since they found out about my mom, he did everything he could to be away from me. He opened up a branch of his business in Busan just to get away from me. At first, he would just go on weekend trips, and those turned into weeks, then months, and then years. I haven't seen that man in years, Innie. He hates me! My mom hates me too! She just won't say it because she doesn't want me to hate her!"

Byeol turned in Jeongin's arms to look at him. Her tear-filled eyes broke Jeongin's heart, but not as much as the words that came out of her mouth.

"How did I fuck up so bad that my own parents don't love me? I make good grades, I've never been in trouble, I'm obedient. But they don't love me! Nobody fucking loves me! I mean, fuck! My own father is paying someone to kill me! A-and I know I have friends, and I don't even kn-know why you guys h-haven't left me."

Byeol's body was shaking as she now violently sobbed. Jeongin didn't know what to say, so he just reached out and wiped the tears from Byeol's face, a useless task because for every one he wiped away, two more fell from her red eyes. He leaned forward and kissed Byeol's forehead before engulfing her entire body in a hug. He rocked their bodies from side to side as he hummed a melody against her head.