Hwang Hyunjin || Call My Name (Under Revision)

10. When my Saviour came

Song recommendation: Kyuhyun - All Day Long

CHAN'S POV

3 YEARS AGO

I stormed out of the house, enraged after another argument with my parents. They never understood. They thought I was wasting my potential, especially because of Changbin. They hated how close we were, and when they blamed him for my behavior, I lost it. I yelled at them, told them it was my life, and to leave me alone. My mom slapped me, and I walked away, not caring where I went.

I ended up at the playground, sitting on a swing, trying to get my thoughts straight. My emotions were all over the place when a voice called out.

"Hey, kid."

I looked up, confused. It was Woojin, a senior I barely knew. He wasn't someone I usually talked to, but there he was, sitting next to me on the swing without asking. His presence was unexpected, but somehow, it didn't feel like he was intruding.

"What's up?" he asked, looking at me carefully.

I didn't say anything, just shrugged and stared at the ground, trying to push my frustration away. But Woojin was calm, like he wasn't in a rush to judge me.

"What happened?" he asked after a moment.

I didn't want to talk, but something in his voice made me let go. I ended up telling him everything—about the fight with my parents, about how they hated Changbin, and how they thought he was a bad influence on me. I was tired of pretending everything was okay.

"I just don't know what to do anymore," I muttered, my voice breaking. "I tried to make them see that Changbin is important to me, but now... now I'm just this screw-up."

I felt the tears threaten to fall, but I tried to hold them back. Woojin didn't rush to comfort me; he just listened. Then, he gave me advice that still echoes in my mind.

"You know," he said, staring at the sky, "to protect someone, you have to change. Not just for them, but for you too."

I frowned, unsure. "What do you mean?"

"Look," he said, turning to face me with a serious look, "your parents don't understand Changbin. They're wrong about him, I get that. But they see you doing nothing, wasting your potential, and that's what hurts them. You're not helping him by throwing everything away. You need to be better—for him, for yourself."

I swallowed hard, feeling the weight of his words. He wasn't just talking about Changbin. He was talking about me.

"And you can show them the truth. Study, work hard. Make them see what they're missing out on." He paused, looking at me. "And hey, talk to Changbin. Help him too. You guys are in this together, right?"

That night, I made a promise to myself that I would change. I studied harder, focused on school. I pushed Changbin to do the same, even though at first, he thought I was joking. He didn't understand why I was suddenly so serious. But eventually, I made him see that it was for his own good.

As the months passed, Woojin and I grew closer. We texted each other about schoolwork, life, random stuff. I started making a name for myself—top student, athlete. I even started to get a bit of attention from people at school. But then, something happened to Changbin.

He started to slip away.

At first, I thought it was just a phase. He wasn't coming to school as much, missing classes, disappearing for days at a time. I tried texting him, but he wouldn't respond. I went to his house, but no one was home. I felt this knot in my stomach, the feeling of something being wrong, but I didn't know how to fix it.

So, I did what I thought was best. I kept pushing him, the same way I had with school. But instead of opening up, he pulled away even more.

He came back to school one day looking like a shell of himself—his eyes hollow, his movements stiff. I tried talking to him, asking him what was going on, but he just shut me out. He wouldn't tell me anything. He started pushing me away, not just with words, but with actions.

One day, he slammed me against a wall when I tried to reach out to him. I was in shock, but I didn't stop. I figured it was just some personal thing he was going through. He'd always been a bit of a loner, but this... this was different.

I backed off after that, giving him space, but I couldn't stop worrying. Every time I saw him, he was by himself, sitting alone. I wanted to be there for him, but he wouldn't let me near him. The distance between us grew, and I felt helpless.

Then, rumors about Woojin started. People were saying things—horrible things. They said he was a bully, a cheater, a liar. The whispers were everywhere, and suddenly, everyone saw him as some kind of villain. I didn't believe a word of it, but Woojin stopped replying to my texts. One day, he just vanished.

I was left in the middle of it all, unsure of what had happened to my best friend and to the guy who had shown me what it meant to truly protect someone. Woojin had given me the advice I needed to start making things right, but now he was gone too.

I didn't know who to turn to. My best friend, the one who had always been there for me, was slipping through my fingers, and I couldn't get through to him. No matter how hard I tried, no matter what I did, Changbin was too far gone, and I couldn't save him.