DK'S BACKSTORY

            DK, born Seokmin, grew up in poverty in a rich city. In any other city, his family would be considered middle class. However, surrounded by aristocrats who would be willing to pay easily pay eight bucks for a bottle of water. The local stores drove up prices merely because they could. The middle-class of the whole town was shoved down to lower-class.

            DK grew up under a single mother. He knows little of his father. Any time his biological father was referenced, his mother looked away to prevent DK from seeing her distress. DK sacrificed his own curiosity about his father for the happiness of his mother. DK never knew, but his father was seven years younger than his mother, and when he found out she was pregnant, he left her. He had a wife and family of his own.

            Saying DK was a mommy’s boy would be an understatement. They were the only family each other had. DK loved his mother more than anything in the world. This proved when his mother had to reenter DK into PreK twice, after the first time of being dropped off, he cried so consistently the staff asked his mom to come pick him up.

            There were things DK overlooked as a kid. The times when they were checking out at a store and after she checked her wallet, DK’s mom hastily put some items back. The nights when DK’s mom made food, and emptied the whole pan- still a small amount- onto DK’s plate, and watched as he ate. The moments when DK passed by the toy isle and whined about getting something, the way his mom looked down at her feet and gently told him they couldn’t. DK only understood the severity of their poverty as he got older.

            Times were hard for a single mom, but with every struggle she combatted it with a smile. Her tough spirit and persevering attitude, as well as her gummy smile was infectious to DK.

            Even thought things were difficult, they weren’t completely at a loss. A family friend always offered to help. Packages of food would randomly show up at the house. And when the woman came to visit with her own son, she would bring lots of toys. DK’s mother was extremely grateful for the generosity but she couldn’t help but feel inadequate when being given something she could not provide for her own son.     

            The two sons- Hoshi and DK spent almost every weekend together as toddlers. A few weekends were spent at Hoshi’s mother’s private lake house. Christmas was in Hawaii. Even though struggling to pay bills, occasionally DK and his mother lived like king.

            DK was loved by everyone at school. His bright and humorous attitude made him a class favorite. One of the most popular guys in town; a quarter back for the football team, involved in community theatre, secretary in student council, as well as working as a waiter at a family dinner. Whether it was on the field or the stage, DK’s mom always set aside time from her two jobs to be in the crowd supporting him.

            DK would look into the crowd. She his mother in the crowd, smiling so much like him. It gave him courage. As far as he was concerned, and he would tell anyone else, his mother was the most beautiful and strong woman he had ever met.

            DK’s friends agree. When Hoshi was initially got disowned, DK’s mom immediately offered to take him in. The fact that she was already struggling to feed herself and her son, let alone a another mouth- wasn’t a considerable factor for her.

            Hoshi was his best friend, but DK’s was aware of Hoshi fragileness. Hoshi went away to boarding school in Sweden, they talked every weekend for hours on end. Hoshi complained about the ‘pompous bastards’ and the ridiculously expensive food (“They served fresh milon for lunch the other day”) as DK skipped meals almost daily to ensure his mother would eat.

            When Hoshi came back from boarding school after being disowned and discovered DK’s popularity. IDK hung out with his other friends too much, Hoshi became jealous. So DK made sure to include him in everything.

            It was DK’s Junior year and his mother was diagnosed with stage three cancer. His mother avoided telling DK but it got to the point where she could no longer explain the recurring doctor visits. When DK found out, he was floored.

            His mom was always there for him and seeing her lose her hair and watching her go through chemo was nothing short of hellish. DK took a year off school, and worked the two extra jobs in place of his mother to try to pay the stacking bills.

            While Hoshi went to college, DK stayed behind. Taking care of the mother who had given him her everything. Recuperating after surgeries, he spent his free time cooking her dinner. DK forced himself to learn how to cook so he could make delicious homemade meals for her. This is where DK’s love for cooking comes from, it simply reminds him of his mom.

            DK was planning to stay at home for however long it took. He had no plans of going away to college while his mom was sick. He took care of her day and night, college was simply out of the question.

            It was in the middle of the second summer. DK’s mom had just gotten back from an intense session of radiation. DK drove her there, waited till it was done and picked her up. Once home, she complained about how weak she was feeling and admitted that she felt she wouldn’t be there to see DK graduate college- something that had been her own personal dream. He tried to reassure her with a smile, like she had done so many times for him. But she did not smile back.

           He called the doctor as she was napping and asked for some more pain medication. He left briefly to go pick it up from the pharmacy. When he came back, she had passed.

           Hoshi received the call- DK screaming hysterically over the phone that his mother was playing some sick joke. Hoshi called 911 as he rushed to DK’s house only a block away. Hoshi was the one that had to pull DK away from his mother as the paramedics analyzed her. She was declared dead on the scene,

            Everyone came down for the funeral. Woozi played a song dedicated to her, she always did enjoy his songs. His mother had no contactable family- the funeral was small.

            As his friends behind him wept, DK didn’t cry the whole funeral. After the service ended, DK was sitting alone on the porch of the funeral home. A limo pulled up and outstepped Hoshi’s mother, she gave him a check to cover the medical expenses and hugged him. She told him that his mother was the only one to see past her money. She also told him to stay by her son’s side. She left and DK cried.

            DK applied for college for the fall. He got accepted to the very school Hoshi and Woozi were going to. He decided going somewhere completely unfamiliar was not a great option considering his shattered mental state.

            DK had never even considered romance. Absolutely not. There is no time when you worked two jobs to support yourself and your mother as well as going to school. DK took a girl to prom once, but it didn’t go so well. She kissing him, something about it felt wrong. All of DK’s friends joked about how he was aual.

           However, DK discovered something about himself pretty near into the school year.

           DK became friends with a guy in his introduction to advertising class. They hung out and studied together. They had dinner once and then followed it with a movie. It wasn’t until the guy kissed him that he realized it was a date. And it wasn’t until DK woke up the next morning in the guy’s bed that he realized how hella gay he was.

            DK was surrounded with hot guys. Hot guys who thought he was hot. Not matter how much Hoshi tried to set him up with blind dates with girls, he couldn’t force himself to fake it any longer. Girls just didn’t do it for him. The first year DK joined the LGBT club on campus and by his Sophomore year, his loving and sociable attitude earned him the vice president spot.

            This was all a secret. DK feared how his friends would react. DK accidently let it slip to Woozi first when Hoshi was gone. They were watching a steamy scene in a movie. Woozi mentioned how hot it was- referring to the girl in the scene. DK replied, “I know, isn’t he?”

            Woozi turned his head and nodded simply, making no huge deal out of it. After that, DK slowly let his other friends in and by the end of the year, Hoshi was trying to set him up with guys in the dance department while Coups did the same with the bike shop.

            DK watched as his best friend crashed and burned as their friend, Dino, went into the mental institution. As Hoshi, drowned himself in alcohol, DK was knee-deep in damage control. So many times he would have to stalk through every club at four a.m to find a half unconscious Hoshi. DK would drag him back to the apartment, still drunk at eight in the morning- hung-over by three.

            Worry consumed DK, knowing the similar pain Hoshi was gong through. But Hoshi didn’t deal with things- he drank.

            As anxiousness rose, another feeling also bubbled to the surface. DK realized how much Hoshi had been there for him. Since birth, he was the one person he could count on most, no matter how much of a coward he was. The only thing DK yearned for was to talk to him like he used to do without Hoshi being incoherently drunk. He missed the 3 a.m talks and the deep conversations he only trusted Hoshi with the information. He missed the Mario Cart battles. Hell, he even missed Hoshi eating his ingredients as he tried to cook.

           DK realized it with a huge- , you’re in love with your best friend.           

A/N ONLY THREE ACTUAL CHAPTERS LEFT IN THE STORY. but of course I will be doing backstories in between chapters. Who do you guys want to see next?