Lost and Found [Markhyuck]

01~ Demoralized

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⋞ English: Demoralized- Having lost confidence or hope; disheartened. ⋟
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29/02/20
-present day-

"Get off the stage you moron!"
"You're worse than a fifty year old smoker!"
"I wouldn't listen to you if you were the only artist left on the planet!"

The crowd sneered and booed, each insult aimed with malice and ill intent. The young boy on stage took a deep breath as the painful words hit like bullets, and his hands shook as he gripped the microphone. His head pounded as the poisonous words bounced around sloppily inside his mind, clinging on and not letting go, dragging him down. He felt as if he was underwater, as if he was drowning, yet everyone decided to point and laugh instead of extending a helping hand.

"Please! Show the artist some respect ladies and gentlemen. It takes a lot of courage to step onto the stage!" A hostess yelled, her arms partially raised and her faced creased in a frown as she desperately attempted to be heard over the jeering crowd.

"No, no..." The boy breathed softly into the microphone, "if they don't want to hear me sing that's ok, I want my audience to be happy, and if me leaving makes that happen then that's what I'll do." He stood up a little straighter, trying to look unbothered but when a particularly drunk man threw his half eaten burger at the boy's face, he couldn't stop the tears from prickling in his eyes and running down his cheeks.

Swiftly the boy placed the microphone back on its stand and walked off the stage, wiping away his tears with the back of his hand as more food and insults came hurling his way.

Now off of the stage the boy made his way to the door as drunk people cheered at his departure, chanting his name in a taunting manner and grabbing at his jacket as he walked by them, "cry a little more singer boy!" A woman jabbed as he passed by, her drink sloshing and spilling over the rim of her cup as she leaned back into her seat, her group of friends snickering at her joke.

Now choking back sobs the boy pushed open the front doors of the pub, gulping in deep breaths of fresh air and fumbling to pick pieces of lettuce, tomatoes, and other foods off of his clothes. "Haechan wait!" The hostess from before called as she exited the bar as well, spindles of dark brown hair escaping her normally perfect ponytail. She stopped short when she caught sight of the boys appearance, her mouth dropping open in shock.

"Oh.. oh no. Haechan I'm so sorry, I thought they'd really like you... oh..." she gasped, the shock and pity in her voice hurting Haechan almost as much as the gravy sliding down his face and stinging his eyes. "C-come back inside, we'll... we'll clean you up and you can eat whatever you want. It's on the house!" The hostess said, pulling the bar's doors open and gesturing for him to go inside.

"Thanks Aya, but I think I'll just head home. We have class tomorrow and I'm tired, besides if I go back in there I'm worried that I'll get some more fries to go with the ketchup on my shirt." Haechan dryly chuckled, sending his friend a small smile before turning and briskly walking away, turning the corner of the building and checking to make sure Aya didn't follow him before letting out a defeated sigh.

Suddenly feeling exhausted the boy gingerly lowered himself into a sitting position, resting his head on his arms and letting his eyes drift shut. 'Maybe I'm really not cut out to be a singer...' the boy thought to himself, reminiscing of all the times he's put himself out there, singing with all his heart only to be taunted and put down by those who thought he wasn't pretty enough to be a singer or thought his voice was too high pitched or too nasally, or too whatever they felt like complaining about that day.

"Mommy? What is that man doing over there, why does he look so weird?"

A small voice pulled Haechan out of his misery session and he curiously lifted his head to see a little boy and his mother standing in front of him. "It's called being homeless Jimmy. It's when someone doesn't have enough money to buy a home to live in. That's why little kids like you stay in school, so you can grow up and get a job and not end up like that boy there." The child's mother hummed, sending Haechan a disgusted look and tugged on the little boy's hand to urge him to keep walking.

"Can we keep him mommy?" The toddler asked, waddling closer to Haechan and reaching to pull at the older boy's hair in curiosity, to which Haechan chuckled softly and tilted his head, letting the small child curiously pull at his hair and poke his cheeks.

"Absolutely not! Look at him, he's a mess! I wouldn't be caught dead taking in a homeless twat, we're leaving, now!"

She shrieked, reaching out for her son, roughly pulling him away from Haechan who was grinning as he played with the small boy. "For your information I'm not homeless!" Haechan yelled after the woman as she stormed away, her heels clicking across the pavement and her child glancing back at the boy as he sat in his mother's arms. "Just... staying at a friend's house temporarily." Haechan muttered as the woman faded from his sight. Sighing the boy stood up and made his way down the street, swaying slightly as he tiredly walked.

Haechan wandered around town carelessly, his exhausted body wanting nothing more than to lay down and sleep, but his mind unwilling to let him. He kept his head low, doing his best to ignore all the shocked stares he received from people passing by him. Minutes turned to hours, the sun began to set, and yet Haechan still walked, now tripping over his feet and his vision slightly blurred. As the boy walked he bumped into a young couple, their intertwined hands separating as he collided with them.

"Watch where you're going moron!"

The male snarled, "D-don't insult him, I think he's drunk." The woman stated, giving Haechan a pitiful look, but reaching out to grab her boyfriends arm, clearly uneasy being around someone she assumed had too much to drink. "No I'm not! I never even drink alcohol, I don't like it!" Haechan cried, to which the man just shook his head and told Haechan to go sober up somewhere else. "I'm really not!" The frustrated boy whined as the couple hurried away.

Tilting his head back the boy stared at the sky, throwing his arms up in a defeated gesture and began speaking to no one in particular, "could this day get any worse, huh?! I bet it could, I bet it'll start raining right now, and if I'm lucky I'll even be struck by lightening!" He taunted, daring the world to throw more inconveniences his way.

Closing his eyes, he let his arms drop to his sides and he decided to let himself mope for another minute or two before walking home. Strangely Haechan found himself humming to a song he hadn't heard in years, but one he remembered dearly. Furrowing his eyebrows he wandered why he thought of this song now, only to realize he could hear it.

Opening his eyes, the boy curiously followed the song, turning down street after street until he finally reached the source of the sound. To Haechan's surprise he found a boy sitting on the steps outside of a building, a large grin on his face as his fingers glided over the strings of his guitar and his foot tapping along to the beat as he sang.

Ambling over to the building Haechan sat against its aging walls and watched in amazement as the crowd around the singing boy grew larger and larger, their cheers encouraging the boy to play one song after another. Soon Haechan found himself humming along to the familiar songs as well, his eyes closing and his head resting against the building as he let himself enjoy the other boy's singing.

-tbc-
-Feb 29, 2020-