far from you | oneus

thirteen. 25-08-20

trigger warning // violence

"Dongju, you're home."

He flinched momentarily, involuntarily recoiling at the sound of his father's voice before he straightened out his expression, smiling. "Hello, dad."

"Come and sit down, let's talk son."

"Uh, okay."

He slipped his sneakers off at the door and took off his socks, dropping by the laundry room to put them in the hamper before sitting down opposite his father on the couch.

"Is there something wrong?"

"Let's talk about school for a second. I apologize for not approaching you sooner, work has kept me occupied in the past few weeks. How's your university enrolment?"

He forces his voice not to shake as he replies, his fingers turning to ice. "It's uh...yeah, it's fine. I applied to Seoul National University and got accepted."

"Mm, Seoul National? A SKY University, not bad." His father's voice was calm, smooth, almost pleasant to listen to, really. Dongju kept his gaze averted, almost as if he feared the man's piercing stare would guillotine him instantly.

"But I wanted to ask this," his father continued, the smile not leaving his face yet never reaching his eyes. "Is your mother giving you enough money? Because I'll talk to her if she isn't."

"No, she is."

His answer came immediately, instinctively. Nothing he said could ever incriminate his mom in any way, not in the slightest. Under no circumstances would he put his mother in the position he was in.

"That's good to hear, Dongju. Unfortunately," he trailed off, reaching behind him, and ice struck cold and burning in his heart.

"I can't tolerate it when people lie."

"Lie?" There was no way to conceal the unstable tone in his voice as he tried to swallow his rapidly frazzling nerves. "I don't think I'm following-"

"Let me ask you this, Dongju. Do you think I'm fucking stupid?"

Shit.

There was no explanation other than this: he knew.

In the next second he was off the couch, his hand out to grab Dongju by the collar, sending the boy stumbling across the living room. He had long since learned not to dodge or deflect; the sooner the man was satisfied, the sooner he could escape everything.

"Do you know how fucking embarrassing it is to have a useless fucking son like you?"

Dongju ducked at the last second, narrowly missing the book his father had launched at him, hearing it clatter with a shattering crash behind him.

"I don't think you understand, do you? You don't. You're fucking selfish, you know?"

"Scholarships are for poor people. Commoners who can't afford to send their kids to good schools because they live shitty, stupid lives with no fucking money."

"Do you want people to look down on us?"

Another object sent in his direction clipped Dongju on the shoulder, causing him to reel back in shock and sudden sharp pain.

"Is that it? You want us to be looked down on and despised? Scholarships are for people who don't care about their image, they use the taxpayers' money, the people's money for their own good. Are we that kind of family?"

Dongju stayed silent, not rising from his position curled up on the floor for fear of incensing his father more.

"ANSWER ME!"

There was so much adrenaline speeding through his veins his vision began to white out in patches, leaving him dizzy and panicking.

"No-"

"I can't fucking tolerate this. I won't have a son like you in this world."

"Do you understand what I mean?"

All of a sudden, it was like a veil was pulled away from his eyes, and a moment of clarity struck him. He understood.

It was too late to scream before the world blacked out around him.