Dark to Baby: A Changjin Story

Chapter 15

Hyunjin told Jeongin everything from the current incident to Felix. He lived an hour away, so Hyunjin didn't see the harm. It felt good to have someone familiar to talk to in this world of the unknown.

Somehow he managed to get everything off his chest in just a few hours despite Jeongin's incessant comments and sarcastic jokes and now he felt he might be able to make it through another week by himself.

If only Taehyuk wasn't sitting on his couch this morning watching the news and sipping a cup of coffee.

"Oh, you're up!" Taehyuk gave Hyunjin a warm smile that was not returned, "your mom's in the kitchen making breakfast."

Hyunjin shuffled towards the kitchen, wishing to get the man in sweatpants and a ratty t-shirt out of his head.

As he rounded the corner, there was his mother stirring eggs with a blissful expression on her face. She hummed a nursery rhyme as she padded around on the tile floor.

Hyunjin leaned his back on the counter and crossed his arms.

Other than the fact that she was dressed and ready for the day, her demeanor resembled all those mornings she had cooked for him when he had been homeschooled. It had been the highlight of his day, waking up to wonderful smells and someone warm to hug.

Hyunjin swallowed the hateful words that kept bubbling up and instead walked over and hugged her from behind, putting his chin on her left shoulder.

She had cried the day she realized he had finally grown taller than her, but now it was just a fact of life.

"Whatcha makin'?" Hyunjin asked as if the eggs weren't obvious enough.

"Mm, eggs and toast. I got strawberries at the store the other day."

"Ooh, yum!" Hyunjin let go of her and skipped over to the fridge. He slid the bowl of strawberries out and happily chomped on one.

His mother laughed at his enthusiasm and scraped the eggs onto a plate. She grabbed the toast out of the toaster and placed it on another plate beside a small bowl of prepackaged jellies. She carried both plates to the dining room with Hyunjin following, shoulders dancing in strawberry excitement.

"Love, food's ready!"

Hyunjin's shoulders stopped dancing.

The air was tense as they ate. Not even strawberries could cure Hyunjin of the horrible thoughts running through his head.

He folded his toast over to make a sort of sandwich slathered in blueberry jam and took a violent bite. Then another, and another. It took only four bites to finish the whole piece.

He casually licked his fingers of the remaining jam, making awkward eye contact with Taehyuk in the process.

Looking away, Hyunjin shoveled eggs into his mouth as fast as possible, washing it down with the glass of milk that had materialized by his plate.

In the span of five minutes, Hyunjin was done with his breakfast.

He stood up, chair scraping the wood floor, and took his dishes back to the kitchen. As he passed by the table again, he snatched the bowl of strawberries and proceeded to his room to get ready for school.

This whole time he had expected his mother to say something, but it was as if she was too scared. Her fear and underlying concern just made Hyunjin angrier.

He kicked open his bedroom door and flopped on his bed moodily eating strawberries as his eyes bored a hole through a spot in the carpet.

His hand absently reached for another strawberry. He felt around the bowl for a second, only feeling small leaves.