Dlbn: Hello, everyone! Welcome to another chapter!
Nbld: Two chapters got posted on the free site at once and I'm so excited. Cliffhangers again, though, gah!
Disclaimer: I own some names, but the rest is canon to Killing Stalking and belongs thus to Koogi. I make no money off writing this.
000
Sangwoo practically threw the car door open when his parents brought him to his aunt and uncle's the day after the last day of school the following summer. His aunt and uncle greeted him with hellos, but he rushed past them to Bum's house, taking the steps two at a time and pressing repeatedly on the doorbell.
"Bum!" He greeted. "Hey, Bum, you home!?"
Auntie laughed. "He's happier to see his friend than us. I think I should be insulted." She told his mother.
His mother chuckled a little, tugging the collar of her dress closer to her neck to hide a bruise on her chest.
"I think you should, as well."
The door to the Yoon residence opened and Bum launched himself out the door at his friend.
"Sangwoo, you're here! You're finally here!" He greeted, not even flinching when he looked up at Sangwoo and the older boy tched at his black eye.
"What the hell…?" Sangwoo wondered. "What happened to you?"
"Huh? Oh!" Bum let him go and hid his eye with his hand. "Nothing! I got in a fight at school...that's all…"
"Fight…?" Sangwoo blinked.
Bum wasn't the fighting type. Which meant someone had hit him. The urge to vomit rose in his throat, but he bit it back.
"Did...did you win…?"
"No." Bum laughed. "Like I could ever win…"
"Yeah…"
"What happened…?" His mom whispered to the other woman.
"I asked him when he went to get the mail yesterday. He says he got into a fight at school." She replied, rubbing her arm nervously. "I don't know anything else, and his uncle won't say anything. Granny, neither."
"Poor thing."
"Hm...almost makes me wonder if that's really what happened…"
"What?"
"Nothing." She shook her head. "I don't want to keep you too long, hon. You'll miss your flight."
"Right!" Ms. Oh smiled, slapping her forehead. "I almost forgot. We're not taking a flight this year. No big vacation for us. Just a nice quiet trip up north. By car."
"Oh, well those can be great, too…Sangwoo isn't going with you…?"
"He lives for summers here...I couldn't take that away from him...we don't mind. Really."
"Hm." Auntie smiled. "Well, enjoy your trip!" She waved at her husband. "Uon! Get Sangwoo's bags!"
He rolled his eyes. "Yes, dear…"
"Men. Gotta tell them the simple things, hm?" Auntie laughed.
Sangwoo's mother merely smiled. "Sangwoo…! We're going now!" She called to her son.
"Hold on, Bum." He rushed back to her. "I'll miss you." He told her, hugging her waist.
"I'll miss you too, my sweet Sangwoo." She kissed the top of his head and, for the briefest of moments, he feared he'd never see her again. "Until August…!"
"August." He nodded, smiling. "Goodbye, father! I shall miss you as well!"
His father waved a lit cigarette at him. Sangwoo watched his mother and father drive away.
"Bum, would you like to join us for dinner?" Auntie wondered.
"Oh...th-thank you…" He replied.
"I know your Uncle won't be home for a few days, so no one can tell you no." She winked. "You two have fun. I'll call you when it's ready."
They watched her leave.
"Hey, Bum?" Sangwoo wondered.
"Yeah, Sangwoo…?" Bum asked.
"Is that really what happened to your eye?"
"O-Of course not…" Bum didn't speak for a moment. "Uncle hit me…"
Sangwoo watched his friend walk away, turning to give him a reassuring smile as he walked towards the backyards that the boys claimed as their own the summer before. He growled at the idea of Bum's uncle hitting him like his father hit his mother. A fist formed at Sangwoo's side and he resisted the urge to punch the mailbox. How could anyone hurt someone so sweet, so innocent, like that? He wasn't certain if he felt sorrier for his mother or his weirdo.
000
Summer always seemed to end much too quickly. Bum loved the summer. Sangwoo was there, his uncle hit him less because he couldn't blame it on school incidents. It was heaven. Bum and Sangwoo were roasting marshmallows at the annual end-of-summer/farewell-Sangwoo block party. His uncle didn't attend that year, going fishing with his friends for the weekend instead. Sangwoo was happy for that. He didn't know if he could hold back from hitting the guy if he showed his face. Bum had eventually opened up to him and told him about getting spanked with the belt, getting screamed at and smacked around when he cried, how the kids at school were always mean to him. At least Sangwoo could escape the horrors of his family home with class. Bum didn't even have that luxury.
"Hey, Bum?" Sangwoo wondered.
"What is it?" Bum blew on his marshmallow to cool it to eat.
"You know what you told me, about the kids at school?"
"Y-Yeah…?"
"Don't let them, okay?" Sangwoo took out his marshmallow and blew on it as well. "They think it's funny, but you keep getting hurt."
"It's okay…"
"No, its not."
"They don't pay attention to me if I don't...I don't have friends at school, Sangwoo. I'm not like you...I…"
"What kind of friends would cause you this much pain in the first place?" Sangwoo shook his head. "It isn't worth it, Bum. You can't please someone who's never happy."
"I guess…" Bum bit his marshmallow. "'I'll try not to let them drag me into things anymore."
"Good...I don't like seeing you hurt…"
"Huh?"
"Nothing." Sangwoo put a new marshmallow on his skewer as he chewed on the other one, holding the skewer up. "Next summer." He promised.
"Next summer."
Bum clicked his skewer with Sangwoo's as fireworks blasted into the night sky.