Today was Tuesday, Shun's only day off from work. It was 3:30pm and he stood by the school gates, watching as the children came rushing outside and left the school grounds to go home with their parents. He had his arms crossed and tapped with his feet on the ground, impatient. Why was Benji taking so long?
He finally saw the boy come out of the building, staring at the ground and shuffling a bit; seemed like he had been through yet another rough day at school. Shun stared at him in worry, a sigh escaping his mouth he wasn't aware off. A few kids came running past Benji and each of them bumped into the boy on purpose, causing him to yell in anger or look frustrated. Bullies it seemed.
As Benji walked up to Shun he stood still and let the man hug him, eyes still on the ground and a sad look on his face. He didn't look up a his father for only a moment. ''How was your day at school?'' Shun asked but Benji hook his head, a sign he didn't want to talk about it. ''Learned anything new today?''
''No.'' Benji simply answered, finally looking up at Shun. He seemed to look his father up and down, like he was judging him. ''I had expected uncle Hikaru to stand here instead of you.'' the boy mumbled, his words sounding kind of harsh. It made Shun's heart ache, made him feel useless and guilty. However, he still managed to put on a fake smile and pat the kid's head, as if he wanted to comfort him.
''No, it's me this time. Tuesday is my day off, remember? I was going to walk the neighborhood's dogs to earn some more money, but decided against it for once. I mean, how long has it been since we did something fun together, hmm? What do you say, wanna hang out together today?''
Immediately Benji's face put on a bright smile and he looked up at Shun with a sparkle in his eyes; he hadn't done anything fun with his father in ages and really looked forward to spending some time together with him again, because Shun was always busy.
''Yeah!'' he said excited, grabbing Shun's arm and pulling at it, towards the street. ''Come on dad! Let's go! I wanna go to the movies with you!'' he said excited, his words almost sounding like squealing. Shun looked at him in confusion before pulling his arm free, shaking his head.
''Benji, how many times do I have to tell you? The movies are way too expensive. I don't have enough money for that. Why don't you go together with a friend or a classmate if you really want to go to the movies?'' Shun said and Benji stared at him disappointed, before looking at the ground in sadness. ''There probably are other parents who have enough money for the movies and don't mind taking you and their child with them, right?''

''Well there is someone in class who's parents have enough money; Jason. But... I asked him but they don't want to take me with them...'' Benji whispered and Shun frowned at him, kneeling down so he was on eye level with the boy, and he rested his hands on the kid's shoulder. ''Why not?'' Shun asked gently and Benji shrugged.
''They say they don't want to pay for a poor kid that belongs to low schooled filth...'' Benji answered and Shun's eyes widened in shock. ''WHAT!?'' he yelled and he let go of Benji's shoulders, rising back to his feet and staring down at the kid. He felt anger boil inside him. People called him low schooled filth? How dare they say that? He did everything for his son, everything to keep him healthy and safe. Everything!
''Dad, please don't yell at me...'' Benji whispered scared and he covered his ears with his hands, tears rolling down his cheeks. Shun stared down in guilt; he didn't want to yell at Benji, the name calling had just surprised and angered him. Glancing around him he saw other parents and their children stare at him and he swallowed, feeling ashamed. He hated to be watched. Kneeling down again he tried calming his son, rubbing the boy's shoulders and pulling the kid in a firm hug. ''Ssssh, it's okay. I'm sorry for yelling, I didn't mean to... I was just angry, because Jason's parents insulted me. I'm not mad at you, I will never be mad at you. I promise.'' he whispered in the boy's ear as he rubbed his back comfortingly. After Benji was calmed down he got back to his feet and grabbed his son's hand, smiling down at him. ''Let's go have a nice day together. Maybe we can go to the park, what do you say?''
''But we always go to the park dad, it's getting boring... Can't we really go to the movies? Just once, one time? Pleaseeeee?'' Benji begged but Shun shook his head, walking with him hand in hand down the school grounds and onto the sidewalk. He moved over to his car and unlocked it, before letting go of Benji's hand and opening the car door for him so he could get in. ''I'm sorry Benji but no. If I pay for the movies now we can't have dinner tonight.'' he lied. Of course they could have dinner; he had shopped for groceries when Benji was at school. Still, they weren't rich and he needed every last penny to buy food, clothes and toys for his son. Going to the movies was way too expensive; he could buy the boy around three shirts and maybe a pair of pants too with the same amount of money.

Benji huffed and shrugged again, getting into the car. Shun closed the door and went to the other side, stepping behind the steering wheel and turning his head to look at the boy. ''I'm sorry Benji. But the park will be fun too, I promise.'' he said with a weak smile on his face, before staring in front of him at the road and starting the car. ''And don't forget to put on the safety belt.''
''You never keep a promise...'' his son muttered as he stared out of the window and Shun swallowed, driving onto the road as the insult the boy had given him ran around through his mind. Was he such a bad father?

Shun parked his car near the park and got out, opening the door for his son who got out as well, but with effort. He wanted to gran his son's hand but the kid pulled away, walking on towards the park alone, not really waiting for his father. Shun quickly locked the car and put away his keys, running after the boy to catch up with him. The two of them entered the park and went to sit on a wooden bench near a small lake, where ducks and goose were swimming. Shun looked at Benji with a smile, rubbing the boy's hair affectionately.
''Shall I get you some ice cream?'' he asked as his eyes fell on an ice cream stand close by. Benji smiled at him, nodding. Shun got to his feet and grabbed his wallet from his pocket. ''Okay, tell me what flavor you want, I will get it for you.''
''Just vanilla, dad.'' Benji responded and Shun nodded, walking over to the ice cream stand. He kept an eye on his son as he stood in line, watching how the kid sat on the bench and just stared at the water. He had to make sure the boy didn't go off on his own. When it was finally his turn he said, ''One vanilla ice cream and one pistachio, please.'' After he had paid for the two ice creams he moved back over to Benji and sat down on the bench beside him, giving the boy his ice cream. ''Here you go, enjoy it~'' he said to the boy who mumbled a thanks and started eating. Shun ate from his as well, daydreaming as he stared around him for a while. After they were done eating ice cream Shun looked at Benji, watching how the kid kicked his feet in boredom, staring at the ground.
''Hey, why don't we go feed the ducks? I have some bread crumbles in a plastic bag. Sounds like fun?'' he asked and Benji looked up at him, nodding weakly. He didn't say anything but got to his feet. Shun reached down for the bag but realized he had left it in the car and sighed in frustration. ''Oh my. Forgot it again... I would lose my own head if it wasn't stuck to my body.'' he said annoyed before chuckling. He looked down at Benji. ''Why don't you wait here for a moment? I will go to the car and get the bag with bread. I will be back soon, I-'' he said before cutting himself off, rubbing the back of his head a bit ashamed. ''I promise...''
Benji stared at him and nodded, sitting back down on the bench. Shun smiled and waked back over to the entrance of the park, not far away from the bench. Searching for his car keys he stopped in front of his car and unlocked it once he found them.
He reached inside and searched for the plastic bag but couldn't find it. After a few minutes of searching and groaning in frustration he found it underneath one of the seats. With a frustrated sigh and rolling his eyes he took it out and locked the car again, before turning around and going back to the park where Benji was waiting for him.

Upon reaching the bench again he noticed Benji was gone. Immediately worrying and feeling his heartbeat rise Shun dashed over to the bench to find the kid's school bag still there beside it. However, staring around the park the boy was nowhere to be seen. ''Benji? Benji!'' he called out in frustration; the boy had promised to stay by the bench but now he was gone. Shun remembered him telling him in the car that Shun never kept a promise, and he began to guess it was a sick joke by Benji just to let Shun feel for once how it was like to not get what you was promised. ''Benji come out, this is not funny anymore! Benji!'' he yelled, running around the park searching for the kid.
Coming across people he kept asking them if they had seen his son, explaining them what he looked like, but no one had seen the boy. They all shook their heads. Growing more and more uncomfortable, scared and worried, Shun searched everywhere. After he had been through every place in the park he began to think Benji might have walked off back home. Getting back to the bench there still was no sign of the boy and so Shun grabbed the kid's bag and rushed over to his car. Unlocking it he threw the bag on the backseat and stepped into the car, turning on the engine and driving home quickly.

Reaching his home he parked the car and jumped out, completely forgetting to lock it. He opened the front door and stepped inside the house, immediately searching in the living room and the kitchen. The TV in the living room was turned off and everything in the kitchen seemed untouched. Even the little custard dessert Benji had been begging to have still laid in the fridge; Shun would have guessed that if the boy had gone home he had secretly grabbed the dessert when Shun wasn't around to keep him from doing it. Eating sweets when Shun told him not to was a habit of Benji; he always stole something from the fridge or the cabinet.
Shun began to feel his heart ache again and he closed the fridge, running upstairs. ''Benji, where are you?'' he called out again. The door to the kid's bedroom was closed again and without even knocking this time Shun dashed in. looking around the room the curtains were closed like the night before and again there was no sight of Benji. His last choice was the bathroom. Rushing over he knocked on the closed door but there came no response. Feeling his heart sink he slammed it open against the wall and jumped inside, but even here Benji wasn't hiding himself. ''Benji!''
The doorbell rang and for a moment Shun hoped it was Hikaru together with Benji, standing there with that same grin on his face like last night. Hopping down the stairs taking two steps at a time he dashed over to the front door and pulled it open. ''Benji!'' he called again, but his eyes fell on Hikaru, who stood there alone.
''Takeru? Chill man, why are you yelling for Benji so much? Isn't he with you?'' Hikaru asked before looking at Shun's car parked near the sidewalk. ''Now that I realize it... I thought you told me you had a day off and wanted to spent time with Benji together at the park. I saw your car and decided to ring the bell to check if you were doing okay... Didn't you go to the park with him?''
''I did but... but...'' Shun said, panting heavily now; hid chest hurt so much, it felt like his heart was going to burst. Hikaru looked at him in worry, reaching out for him, but Shun pushed his hands away. He sat down on the ground in the hallway, gasping for air and reaching for his chest. Hikaru sat down in front of him and tried to calm him, pulling his best friend into a hug and rubbing his head. ''Calm down, calm down... What happened?''
''W-we... we were at the park. I bought him some... some ice cream... We were going to feed the ducks but I realized the plastic bag with bread was still in the car so... so I went to get it. I told Benji to wait at the bench, I would be back soon. He always waits Hikaru, he always waits for me...'' Shun whispered and he started crying, tears rolling down his cheeks. ''And... I guess he didn't wait this time?'' Hikaru asked and Shun shook his head rapidly.
''He... he's gone... I searched everywhere for him but no one had seen him and I went home and he isn't here, either... What if something happened to him, Hikaru? I'm scared... I'm worried about him... I miss him...'' Shun whispered, his voice hoarse. Hikaru kept on hugging him, holding him tight. Shun stared up at him, red puffy eyes from crying and fear written all over his face. He grabbed his car keys from his pocket and gave them to Hikaru, who stared at them in confusion. ''Hikaru, we need to go to the police and report him missing... Please, drive me there!''