Dark to Baby: A Changjin Story

Chapter 27

"Thanks for the ride, Bin. I'll see you guys tomorrow!" The two boys in the car chorused out a variety of goodbyes as Hyunjin shut the door and walked up the steps to his porch. He paused for a second and waved as Changbin pulled out of the driveway.

When Changbin's car was out of sight, Hyunjin's smile dropped. He knew what was about to happen. His mother didn't joke around when it came to his safety. He just hoped the punishment would be mild and he could still keep his promise to Changbin.

"Well, let's get this over with," he muttered to himself and opened the door. The door creaked, alerting the occupants of his entry.

"Baby? Is that you?" Hyunjin kicked off his shoes and looked up. There was his mother, hands on her hips, and a small, frustrated smile on her face.

"Hey, Mom." Hyunjin's arms wrapped around the small woman tenderly.

"You are in big trouble young man."

"Yeah, I know." Their calm voices whispering into each other's ears portrayed an endearing scene of reunion, but Hyunjin knew better.

His mother backed up from the hug and stared at him without emotion.

"Follow me." Hyunjin gulped and kept his head down as he made his way to the living room.

Taehyuk looked up from the book he was reading and raised his brows from behind his round wire glasses. He slowly closed the book and put it on the coffee table before standing up to leave.

"No, sit down. I want you here." Taehyuk obeyed and sat while Hyunjin's mother took the place to his right, "sit."

She gestured to the seat across from them, and Hyunjin sat, not sure how he felt about this set up. It felt too close to an interrogation.

"You're grounded." Hyunjin's mouth opened in surprise at the sudden words, but before he could protest, his mother was speaking again.

"Don't say anything. Do you even know how worried I was? You leave at the crazy hours of the morning, with people I don't know, don't tell me where you're going or when you'll be back, ignore my messages and calls until the afternoon just to tell me you're in the hospital?" Hyunjin's head shook from side to side, and he let out little scoffs of disbelief. "Don't you dare scoff at me Hwang Hyunjin. All I ask is you tell me when you go out. I thought you were hurt! So you're staying in this house except for school for the next two weeks and don't try to change that. I know you were just trying to help a friend and I appreciate that, but I want you safe."

Hyunjin filled his cheeks with air and looked up at the ceiling. In a burst he let the air escape his mouth and his head drop down so he was looking at the floor.

What was he gonna tell Changbin?

"I'm done. You should go rest. I'm sure you didn't sleep much last night. I'll call you when dinner's ready."

Hyunjin kept his eyes on the floor as he trudged his way down the hall and into his room, shutting the door.

Grounded. Great.

He looked down at his clothes and wrinkled his nose at his disheveled appearance. Not that he cared too much, but a shower sure sounded blissful right now. Warm water on his sore shoulders? Yes, please!

With that in mind, he stripped off his clothes, left them in a pile by his door, and walked across the hall into the bathroom.

The water distracted his mind as he scrubbed his hair and let it soothe his muscles. It hadn't even been that long, but the sterile hospital smell had creeped its way into every crevice of Hyunjin's body, making his mother's mango body wash a little more appealing. He stayed under the water a little longer than normal, relishing the fact that he could relax for a few moments.