“If you look like this, I’d hate to see the other guy.” do mine first bich
Bruised and Broken / @635mph Currently Accepting.
“There was more than one guy.” He breathes out in a faint susurration only when Juwon has his back to him, gaze ensnared on the floor because he’s unsure as where he should rest his eyes. Fingers furling and unfurling out of fists, his eyelids falter and he shuts his eyes, sighing. In his moment, he imagines he resembles an impotent child who had been suspended and sent home from school after he had gotten into a fight; and Juwon, his older brother who needed to put his schedules on hold to tend to the poor boy. “Four, to be exact. Five, if you count the one who fled as soon as he realized what he was getting himself into. He’s smart. I don’t blame him.”
He fishes his phone out of his pocket and scrutinizes his appearance through his reflection on the screen. He does look like shit, contrary from his usual appearance. Juwon did not say this directly, but he assumes he did indirectly; subtly. His hair is unkempt, random pieces sticking out here and there. His face was stained with blood and dirt, as was his clothes. His skin marred; cuts and bruises littered across his countenance, while the corner of his lip is busted. That’s all he can see. He has yet checked those on his body, but based off the pain he feels lingering on his right should and lower left side, he knows he harbors some there, as well.
Taeyong corrects his posture and sits still while Juwon tends to his wounds. Every now and then, he would wince and Juwon would pause, looking at him as if he needed permission to continue. And he would let him despite the pain, even though he disliked each second of this.
“Juwon.” He stops him just to utter their name. It seems like it’s been ages since he had last done that, and he isn’t even sure why he had even done so in the first place anyways. Their gazes eventually meet and he’s giving him that look again – Do you want me to stop? – He parts his lips as if he were going to speak, but his tongue twists and he shakes his head; once, twice, closing his mouth and diverting his attention elsewhere.
This reminds him of his first official meeting with Juwon. He remembers it in detail: he was ten, new to the orphanage. Quiet and reserved, Taeyong kept strictly to himself and, if possible avoided mingling with the others. Adults deemed his behavior to be completely eccentric and unusual, whereas most children deemed it to be downright arrogant and rude. He’s heard both, neither bothered him.
It did not just stop there.
He was different, society hates different.
It had given the other kids there the perfect excuse to torment him, treat him as an outcast. Taeyong wasn’t pleased with what his bullies had done to him, but he had never bothered to respond to the harassment. Instead, he brushed it off and bottled his anger and frustrations. But, with every bottle, there is only so much content that can be stored. One day, when he’d been pushed back one step too far, the bottle ruptured and so did he. Everything he carried up until that very moment worked their way into his fists, and his fists had worked on their faces. It was one against five, the odds were far from even. He was clearly at a disadvantage, and yet, quite surprisingly, he had the upper hand. He learned then, they were all talk and no bite.
And this where Juwon enters the picture.
He had been forcibly ripped from the scene and taken elsewhere before the adults had arrived. He remembers being dragged away by Juwon and, if he recalls correctly, later brought to the infirmary. There, he had not only been patched up, but he also made a new friend; a brother, even.
When the final bandage was placed over his cheek, it was followed by a two gentle pats. Gratitude is expressed through a simple “Thank you” and comes in the form of a simper; a genuine simper he has not sported in a while. “Hyung,” he calls the other with purpose this time, palms perched atop the couch’s cushions as he leans further back, onyx orbs settled directly over his.
He knows what he’s about to ask is none of his business and he may be entering forbidden territory, but for Juwon, he’s willing to take the risk. “What’s been bothering you lately?”
