I want to leave away to somewhere
I want to shout out
This world is full of lies

He watched the horizon slowly turn to yellow and orange as the sunset at the west while his fingers twirled the lollipop in his mouth. The school has long ended, and he has sent Dara home three hours ago. Usually, Jiyong would go straight home so he could sleep before he wake up in the middle of the night to eat and play online games but he couldn’t bring himself to do that. His mind was in mess. He felt guilty but he didn’t know what to do.

Jiyong didn’t really know how many times has his head repeated the incident of Dara, and how vulnerable Dara looked with her hand clutching to him, and how broken his heart was when he watched Dara cry. What Brian has done to her would leave a deep, harsh scar in her, but Jiyong would not let Dara become how she was before she met him.

Not as long as Dara was just under his nose.

Noticing that the day has turned to night, Jiyong brought himself to stand. He already finished the lollipop but he kept the stick inside his mouth, biting it playfully while his mind was still thinking about Dara.

The first time when he met Dara, where he accidentally bumped to her and sent both of them to the floor, he never forget how her face looked like. Well, who would forget the obvious red and purple skin on her cheek? But Jiyong didn’t think she looked unpleasant, in fact, he think that she looked special.

Because Jiyong never remembers how someone looks like at an only first glance. But not Dara. He remembered her, maybe because he scanned every inch of Dara’s face when he was hovering over her.

Dara reminded him of someone who he longed for.

He threw the lollipop stick into the dustbin and continued to walk home. Jiyong decided to leave Dara’s bicycle with her since he didn’t know when would Dara go to school again. With her condition, Jiyong was sure that Dara could not bring herself to go to school and he gonna let her rest, at least for a few days.

The shiny, black car was parked in the huge garage of his home, making him blow a raspberry. His father would never come home until it’s late in the night. So, if he was home this early, that means something happened. Jiyong knew that his father already heard from the principal about what has he done today at school. 

Jiyong pushed the big door and let himself into the house and kicked his shoes to the shelf, where he put his collection of sneakers. The house was big, beautiful, perfect, and shiny, but all Jiyong felt about it was empty. 

Because his mom wasn’t there anymore.

The sound of the television in the living room indicated that someone was there. He could see his father’s head peeking from the sofa, his back to Jiyong. Ignoring his father, Jiyong made his way to the stairs to go to his room, but his father’s voice calling him made his steps came to halt.

“Kwon Jiyong.” His father’s stern voice echoed in the big living room because the television has been turned off. Jiyong kept his eyes on the stairs.

“Look at me.”

Rolling his eyes, Jiyong whipped around to look at his father, Kwon Jihoon. Jihoon was sitting on the sofa, still wearing the outfit that he usually wears when he goes to work. His black and some white hair were combed neatly. His tie has loosened a bit and Jihoon’s face looked really tired.

“What kind of trouble that you did again?” Jihoon’s stare was sharp but Jiyong only stared at his father back with his expressionless face. When Jiyong only gave his father his bored face, Jihoon asked again.

“I’m asking you. What have you done?” his voice raised slightly, and Jiyong could see that his father was clenching his jaw.

“You already know,” Jiyong said. “Why would you bother to ask?”

Jihoon’s face turned red. “Do you know how much I pay to your school so that you would not be expelled?!”

“Don’t know, and don’t care.” Jiyong turned again and started stepping on the stairs. But the words that came out from his father’s mouth made him stop.

“Is this how I teach you since you were small? You don’t even know how to respect your father?!”

Slowly, Jiyong turned to his father again, his right hand gripping the bag strap on his shoulder. “You? Teach me? Teach what? To abandon people who need help? And that’s why my mother is dead?”

Jihoon was speechless for a while. He opened his mouth but no words came out before he clenched his jaw again. 

“This has nothing to do with your mother!”

“It has!” Jiyong’s voice raises a few octaves. “I will never punch people without a reason but you don’t know that. You’re just too busy to treat sick people out there but you don’t even have time for your family and that is why my mother died!”

At the same time, the door was pushed open, revealing Dami who looked as tired as their father. When she spotted the two males, she immediately frowned.

“Jiyong, are you okay?”

“You ask him if he’s okay? You are not going to teach your brother what he should do?” Jihoon glared at Dami.

“Dad, I know my little brother and I know the exact reason why he acted like that but I’m not going to tell you. Just go get some rest, okay?” Dami quickly walked up to Jiyong at the stairs and pushed him to his room, leaving their father gaping at them. As they reached Jiyong’s room, Dami closed the door and locked it. She clicked the light on and brought herself to sit on the chair near the desk.

“Is Dara okay?”

“How did you know?”

“Your friends, I didn’t ask for their name but they are twins, came to the restaurant to tell me about Dara.” She twirled the chair and hummed a song. When Jiyong did not say anything, Dami stopped playing with the chair and pulled Jiyong to sit on his bed.

“My little bro, you look like you were the one who was bullied. Tell me, is Dara okay?”

Jiyong nodded his head and then shook. “Physically, she’s okay. That b*stard slapped her a few times but that is it. Her mental, I don’t think so. She looked so scared and she cried when I asked her if she’s okay, but she didn’t say anything about it. She keeps all of it to herself.” Jiyong said, not noticing how shaken his voice was and how many words he has uttered.

Everything was the same. When Dara tried so hard to protect herself, crying when she failed, stuttering when she wanted to talk, it was all the same as when his mother was still alive.  Except that Dara was still breathing, and Jiyong was going to keep it that way.

The touch on his hand brought him