GOOD BOY || J.JK × Reader ✔

chapter 11 | Hidden

"I can't talk about it..." he voice cracks into sobs, his arm still hiding his face that he doesn't want me to see. "Yes, you can. All the things you say won't leave this room, Jungeun. You can trust me."

I grab his arm in a gentle manner and bring it down, wiping his tears away. "What is happening to you? Hm?" I use the back of my hand to get rid of the tears. "Can you promise me you'll never talk about it to my brother or family...please...?" he doesn't look at me in the eyes but only at my lips. "I won't say anything. I promise you."

He sniffles and breathes in a convulsive manner, not calming down but finally deciding to let it out. "I don't know how to stop this...I'm so scared of them whenever I come to school..." he sobs in the most hurtful manner. "Who are you scared of?"

"Three guys in the class...they always hurt me and bully me because I always have good marks, and they hate me..." his facial expression tears my heart apart. "They call me an ugly nerd and always hurt me when I'm in the restroom...if I refuse to do their homework...they beat me up until I say yes..."

I gulp down but hold my emotions back in front of him. I would never have expected to hear this from him, he's so cute and kind to everyone, this can't be possible do to something so horrible to him.

"I don't want you to tell this to my brother...I don't want him to know I'm weak..." he chokes up on his words but I hold his hand in mine and stroke his skin with my thumb. This isn't the first I have to deal with this, but it still affects me, deeply. "You're not weak, Jungeun. Don't say such a thing. You're strong no matter what you think because the only weak ones in this, are the ones who hurt you. You should talk about it with your brother, I'm pretty sure he'll be there to protect—"

"No," he interrupts me with despair in his voice, his teary and red eyes now dived into mine. "Please...you promised me...My brother is like...so strong mentally and physically that he would be disappointed to know he has a brother like me...I'm ashamed of myself...I want to be like him, so I have to face this all alone and not ask for his help..." he speaks without even leaving a single hint of doubt. His thoughts are so set that I know this will be hard to make him think otherwise.

"Jungeun...I want you to know that there's no reason to be ashamed of yourself. What makes you think you're not strong? Or not as good as your brother?" I look into his eyes no matter how painful it is. "I talked to him just this morning, and he told me he wishes he were like you because he sees you as someone so much more intelligent than him that he feels stupid. You both love each other a lot and care for each other, your brother would never be ashamed or disappointed in you. When you were all alone at the bus stop, he asked me if I could come to pick you up because he always gets worried when he's not with you...he wants to be here for you...he would never want to know that you thought such a thing and let those people hurt you without asking for help when he could have been there to save you from that..."

He gazes into my eyes without saying a word, listening to me carefully. "You don't have to feel ashamed of yourself for anything. I'm always proud of you whenever you do something, you're a good and mature boy, you're strong as well, and you have the proof right now, you're talking to me about it, you're able to reveal it and face me to tell me what makes you feel so hurt and scared. You're way braver than those who hurt you."

He erases the tears from his cheeks but glances down, his breathing slowing down and going back to a normal pace. I smile at him and caress his hand. "I'm here for you, Jungeun. We can solve this together, I can go to the director and talk about it with you so we can only be the only ones aware of this. Then, those bad guys will be expelled from this school, you'll be left alone, and no one will hurt you again...but this can only happen if you let me do this with you and show them that they're not going to be able to bring you down. You're better than them, show them that you don't need to use violence to have control. You're too smart for that."