Night fell, and I was in my dorm room, staring at the ceiling.

The day where Ms. Seo tried to kill me is still fresh on my mind. From her weird speech about me kidnapping Persephone (which I still don’t understand since it’s obvious that she doesn’t exist) to the fact that she transformed into some…Griffon…I mean, those are just mythical creatures, right?

Yeah, yeah that sounds about right.

Maybe it was a dream?

Definitely just a dream.

…

Oh who am I kidding?

I can still clearly remember Ms. Seo and all the hell that she gave me this year. From calling me to answer questions—in which she obviously knows I don’t know the answer to—to giving me more homework than the rest of the class. I remember clearly that she had it out for me, that she wanted me dead. Fast.

But the picture of Ms. Seo as a griffon is still scary.

But then…That leads to another thing…

Why does she think I have Persephone?

A whole lot of questions ran through my mind every night, such as, “What the heck happened that day?” or “Why does no one remember Ms. Seo?” 

I massaged my head, trying to understand the entire situation. I need something to calm me down.

...

Water, I need water.

I got up from bed and walked around to find the water fountain.

The one think I hate about Chungae—well, another thing that I hate about this place—is that the hallways at night are as creepy as hell! I mean, it’s completely, and utterly dark with only the red exit sign glowing in red. It’s soo scary! I feel like some pedofile, who has it in for high school boys, is going to come in and touch me in weird places!

I quickly got a drink and went back.

“…About Donghae, sir.” I heard Ryeowook’s voice.

I paused, taking a few steps back to the only open door (The one with yellow-ish light) just to see Ryeowook and Mr. Choi talking to each other.

Okay, usually, I’m not an eavesdropper, but it’s sort of hard to not want to hear what your friend is saying about you to an adult.

“He’s definitely one of them.” I heard Mr. Choi’s voice say. “No doubt about it.”

“So I was right.” Ryeowook’s voice chimed, “But do you really think I can bring him to camp? After…After…You know.”

“It wasn’t your fault.”

“I should’ve followed him though!”

“I should’ve destroyed Seo earlier. I knew she was a griffon earlier, but I didn’t do anything.”

 “No, if you did, you would’ve blown your cover.”

“Yes, but—” his eyes shifted to the creak in the door, “Donghae?”

My eyes widened, but I ran back to my room. Which, now that I think about it, was a stupid idea since I could’ve been like “YOU KNEW ABOUT SEO!?” but nope, I wasn’t like that. Instead, I just ran back into my room, thinking.

They knew about Seo.

Once I got on my bed, my eyes shifted to the ceiling. So they didn’t forget Ms. Seo after all. But…Why is everyone pretending to forget her? Is this a trick on me or something?

It couldn't possibly be a trick...Right? 

Was this all a lie? It has, hasn't it?

I rubbed my temples, closing my eyes.

Sleep, I need sleep.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Days passed, weeks passed, and finally, it was the last day of school.

Boy, was I happy. All I had today were exams—which I’m sure I could get a good D in all of them.

Besides, the principal of Chungae  academy had already made it clear that I would not be invited to the school next year.

Good riddance.

No more Minzi, and I’m happy about that.

But the only one that I’m really worried about is Ryeowook. What would happen next year if I wasn’t there with him? I guess Ryeowook would be the only real reason why I would want to stay at the horrible school because he’s the only one that I really care about. He’s my best friend, and he’s pretty good at biology. I mean, I wouldn't have gotten through that class without him! Because honestly, who cares about exo-skeleton, endo-thermic and Latin names of animals? I mean, I call a horse a horse. Not a freaking equus ferus caballus! Who the heck calls them that?

I slowly opened my eyes, staring at the ceiling. The cream colored walls were brighter today.

Quickly, I got off of bed and started to get dressed.

~~~~

I’ve worked on all of the tests, and I promise, I didn’t cheat.  I swear on my pride—and I assure you, I have pride. And since I didn’t cheat, I think I got a D+ on all of my tests—if I’m lucky.

Finally, it was Latin class. I walked up to Mr. Choi to give him the exam paper. He looked at me, “Mr. Lee” he starts.

“Yes, Mr. Choi?” I smiled.

“I heard you aren’t going to this academy next year.”

Well that dampened my mood.

I slowly nodded, “Yes sir.” I say, hearing people talking behind my back.

Mr. Choi’s lips frowned, “I’m sorry to hear that. But…I think it’s for the best.”

One of my eyes twitched, “What?” I ask, surprised.

He was silent for a bit, but then started talking.

Whatever he said, I didn’t bother listening. I felt hurt. This entire year, Mr. Choi was my favorite teacher. He was that one teacher that never gave up on me. He was the one teacher that had an interest in me, no matter how much I screwed up. He was one of the rare teachers that didn’t want to kill me even though I practically failed all of his tests.

But now…My favorite teacher is telling me that it’s best that I leave? Did he give up on me?

It’s funny how those things work, don’t they? You trust someone, but they end up breaking your heart in the end.

“Enough.” I say, looking at Mr. Choi with tears b in my eyes.

“Donghae-shii, I didn’t mean to—”

“I get it. I’m a terrible student.” I stated before bowing, “I apologize. Next year, I won’t be in front of you ever again.”

“Dong—”

I left before he could finish talking.

~~~~

The next day came. And wow, was I tired.

I mean, after a 3 hour train ride from Incheon to Mokpo, I felt dead. I didn’t like long rides, but eh, it would be my last one until the summer ended. Also, I got to see my mom.

So now, I’m sitting in front of the train station, waiting for my mother.

But then the worst thing came to me. I started to think.

Ever since I was a little kid, I was never really wanted.  From my dad, grandparents, aunts, or even schools—I was always hated.

It’s sad, isn’t it? That my dad doesn’t even love me? Of course, I hate him, so it doesn’t matter. To me, the dad I’m living with isn’t my father. I refuse to call him my father. He doesn’t treat my mom as his wife—but more like his servant.

Then it’s my grandparents. Because of me, they disowned my mom because of the shame she brought them when she came home pregnant. It hurts, don’t you think? To be thought of as an embarrassment  to the family just because of your existence.

Aunts? I really wonder if I even have any.

Whatever it is, I’m never loved.

Sometimes, it makes me wonder why mom even bothered to give birth to me. Or maybe, why didn’t she just give me away? It would’ve been so much easier on her. It made me wonder what I was worth to her, for her to even want to give birth to me.

I’m dyslexic, I have ADHD, I’ve been kicked out of every single school that I’ve been to.  I’ve been a useless child that couldn’t make my mom proud. I’m a horrible person.

I guess, that’s why you can call me a momma’s boy. For what she’s done for me, I need to save her, right?

Especially from my dad, Kim Jaehyun.

Honestly speaking, he looks like a tuskless walrus, and has a horrid odor. Oh gosh, just thinking about it makes me want to vomit in my mouth. Let’s see, how do I explain this…If garbage could fart, that would be him—only 100 times worse.

Yeah, that sounds about right.

 “Donghae!”

I looked up, smiling when I saw my mother waving her hands. I grabbed my bags and ran towards her, hugging her.

My mom had long, straight black hair, pale white skin, and dark brown eyes that are dark enough to be considered black. Her eyes already had wrinkles at the edges, and she looked older than her age. Not something anyone likes to hear of course. But she has that look in where you want to be near her because she looks like those mothers that makes you sweets constantly.

“Donghae, I missed you.” She says, hugging me.

“I missed you too, mom.”

She broke the embrace, pulling me away by my shoulders. Her smile never leaving her, “Honey, guess what? Jae said that we can go to our mother son getaway soon.”

My eyes widened, “Really?”

“It’s been a while, hasn’t it? He gave me the weekend off, so we can go. Get ready, okay?”

“When?”

“Tomorrow.”

I nodded my head, soon, putting my bags in the trunk of the car.

My mother and I were both in the car, and she started driving away. I asked her about home, and she didn’t talk much. She just said that it’s getting better, with Jae and all. Well that was complete bull, if you ask me. Jae’s a top class regardless.

She asked me about the school, and well…What else could I say? I hated the school, the principal told me to never come back, and that there was a demon like teacher trying to kill me and turned into a bird/lion telling me that a kidnapped someone?

I don’t think she would understand. What sane person would?

Once we got home, I was far from relieved. I hated this place.

It was a rickety old apartment with paint peeling off. Every step you take, there’s always a creaking sound. It wasn’t the best place, but it was the only place that Jae was willing to buy us since he spends all his money playing poker.

That poor bastard.

“EY SORA!” Jae yelled, “Make that dip of yours! My friends are hungry!”

That, my dear reader, is Jae. The terrible person in which I've been forced to call "dad". But the thing is, I don't call him that. Calling someone "dad" sounds like a respectable term—something he didn't deserve what-so-ever. He didn't care that I called him Jae. I think the only thing that we have in common is that we hated each other with a passion and would feel extremely awkward if either of us called each other respectfully.

“Say please, Jae.” I say, clenching my teeth.

“Oh look, it’s your boy!” one of Jae’s friend, Seunghyun if I’m not mistaken, frowned. “What a shame. We were having such a good time.”

“I know, right?” another, Junghyun, said.

I glared at those two before turning towards my mother, “Mom, why do you stay with him?” I ask, not letting them hear me.

She looked at me, with her usual sad eyes, walking towards my room with my bags. I glared at Jae once more before I walked towards the room. It was a blue room—or Sapphire blue, as my mom likes to be exact—with just a bed and a desk. Jae doesn’t like spending money on me at all.

“Alright, let’s start unpacking.” Mom said, avoiding my previous question.

“No point, we’re leaving tomorrow.” I say.

She nodded, placing my bags on the ground.

“Mom, answer me, why do you stay with that…With that creep?” I ask once more.

“He supports us.”

“No he doesn’t. Not the kind of support a kid needs.”

She gave me her pity eyes. “Look, it’ll all be over tomorrow, okay? Just three days. Just you and me, buddy—no Jae what-so-ever.”

I managed to force a smile on my lips.

 Even though I loved our outings, I hated when she changed the conversation.

What are our outings like, you ask? Well, we just go to the beach, rent our cabin and have fun at the beach. There really wasn’t much to it.

“SORA!” Jae yelled. “DIP!”

“Hold on!” she said in a more gentle tone.

I looked at her, “Mom, you don’t deserve this.”

“I have to make food, okay?” she smiled, getting off of my bed.

“Mom, please.” I start, “Leave him.”

She gave me a fake smile, something she always does when I ask her to leave him, before leaving. 

~~~~~~~~~

Did I ever tell you how much I hate my father?

He was screaming at my mother, for some unknown reason. All I know, is that I woke up thanks to the screaming. I forced my eyes to open, looking at the time.

It was three in the morning.

Why was  Jae yelling at my mom?

I rubbed my eyes, trying to listen to the conversation.

“NO. WHAT PART OF, ‘I’M NOT SPENDING ANY MONEY ON THAT KID’ DO YOU NOT UNDERSTAND?”  Jae yelled. “I’M NOT PAYING FOR ANOTHER PRIVATE SCHOOL.”

“Jae, he can’t get accepted into a normal public school.”

“WELL I SURE AS HELL AM NOT GOING TO PAY FOR ANOTHER SCHOOL.”

“Honey, we have too—”

“Why didn’t you just abandon him? Huh? Look, I took you in, not, not that brat in.”

“Don’t you dare call him that.”

“What is he then? He surely isn’t an angel since he’s been kicked out in every school you’ve put him in. I’m not paying for him.”

“Excuse me? You’re the one that spends the money that I work on playing poker.”

 “What I do is my business. I’m not going to pay for your kid’s tuition.”

“My kid? He’s our kid.”

“He was never my kid. He was luggage—that was all that he was to me.”

“Jaehyun Kim! Don’t you dare call our son tha—”

“Our son? When was he our son? You slept with someone else to get him, not me.”

“But you took him in!”

“I was forced to.”

“Jae, keep quiet! He might wake up.”

“Well I don’t care.”

My eyes widened. So I’m not Jae’s son?

There was a part of my that wanted to dance and jump around. However, there was another part of me that was…Confused. What I mean by confused, is that I had another dad—but my mom never told me about it. I had another dad—oh my god.

That would explain why mom would say, “You look just like your father.” Even though I looked nothing like Jae.

My mom never mentioned Jae when she said that.

Thoughts ran through my mind, but then, I heard a sound. A loud sound that is. The only kinds that would only come if you slapped someone—no, he didn’t…Did he?

I heard Jae curse at my mother.

I got off of bed, and towards her room. I opened the door and saw my mom on the ground, holding onto her cheek.

Anger swelled in me. I looked up at Jae who didn’t look one bit remorseful.

“Sora, that kid isn’t mine. He was never mine to begin with.” He said, not noticing me.

“You bastard.” I glared at him.

He looked up, a smirk falling on his face. “And what are you going to do about it?”

I was silent.

“I knew it.”

I clenched my fists.

“You should know your place now kid.” He says, walking towards me. He pushed my head aside over and over again. “You don’t even belong here. You don’t belong anywhere.”

Even though it came from Jae, it still hurt. I know that I don’t belong here. I know that I don’t belong in this world. I wasn’t normal. I was far from normal. I know that I didn’t deserve to live with my mother, that I didn’t even deserve her affection. I know that I made people hate my mother and I know that I’m nothing but a trouble maker.

However, I will still human. And being human gave you emotions—even though you don’t want to have emotions.

“At least I don’t hit my women.” I glared at him.

“You brat.” He still bore a fake smile on his face. “You don’t know your place do you?” he continued to push my head to the side with his fist. “You little b—”

“Jae, don’t say that to my son.”

I glared at him. All the anger that I had suddenly came up.

“Yes, I don’t know my place. But neither do you.” I say, suddenly kicking his crotch with all my might.

He fell down, groaning in pain.

“For now, I’m shorter than you.” I say, kicking his stomach, “But I’m stronger and sober.”

“Donghae!” mom cries.

 “Mom, get up. We’re leaving.”

She was silent for a bit.

“W-what?”

I grabbed her wrist, pulling her up. “You already packed for tomorrow, right? Get the suitcase right now.”

“But—”

“NOW.” I gave her a look, scaring her for a moment, but she listened.

I ran towards my room, grabbing my suitcase in which I still hadn’t unpacked (thankfully) and walked out of my room, putting my stuff at the door. I ran into my mom’s room and grabbed a few racks of her clothes and put them in a random bag.

“Mom, get in the car and take the bags out. We’re leaving, and never coming back.”

Mom looked at me, but I nodded. “I’ll take care of it. Just take your bag and mine out first.”

She nodded, running towards the door.

Luckily, mom didn’t have that many clothes. She didn’t shop very much because we didn’t have that much money. Same with shoes. She only had 2 pairs. One was her dress shoes, the other one was her regular shoes—in which she was wearing.

“Where do you think you’re going?” Jae asked, finally getting up. “Do you really think I’m going to let you live? Look kid, I let you live long enough, maybe it’s time that you—”

“Maybe it’s time for you to grow a set of balls and learn not to hurt women.” I say, turning around, walking out of the room.

“Donghae, you were never wanted. Did you know that? From everyone, you were never wanted. Only your idiotic mother wanted you. Because of you, you made your mother suffer.” He says.

I clenched my fists.

Of course no one wants me. I was never wanted.

Even God doesn’t save me. I was made to die.

“Heh, let’s so who’s wanted when you’re alone.” I managed to say.

“You son of a .”

“Nice way of calling your wife that.” I say, running to the door, but he grabbed my arm.

Rather than worrying if he was going to punch me and then try to stab me to death, I noticed the sink. Maybe it’s my ADHD that was acting up, but the sink was rumbling.

Jae pulled me, pushing me to the ground, but that when the sink blew up. Jae looked back, confused.

Chance.

I kicked Jae in the balls once more and got up, running downstairs with mom’s clothes in my hands.

I got downstairs and into the car—in the passenger seat.

“DRIVE.” I yell.

She listened, turning the car on and driving at full speed.

“Did Jae do anything to you?” mom asked.

 “I’m fine.” I took a deep breath.

“He did! What did he do?” mom asked, sounding worried as ever.

“He managed to stop me, but somehow the sink blew up and I was able to ran away.”

“…What?”

“Nothing, just drive.”

There was silence in the car.

But it didn’t matter.

What happened back there was amazing. It was as though God listened to me for once, as though He was telling me that I was wanted. It felt nice, honestly.

But again, I’m happy to finally be running away from Jae. He’s better off dead.

I mean, who is he to think that he could get away with slapping my mother when I’m in the house? Certainly, he isn’t in his right mind. I mean, who would be? He slapped my mother.

Wait a second.

“Mom.”

“Yes, Donghae?”

“Has Jae been…Abusing you?”

She was silent.

I found myself burning in rage.

Jae, that less than a low life—he’s been abusing my mother? He dares to abuse my mother? And yet, my mother didn’t bother to tell me? What the—I can’t even imagine.

“Mom. We’re running away.” I state matter of factly.

She didn’t say anything.

“If you ever turn back to Jae, I’ll run away without you next time.” I glanced at her. “Got it?”

“I understand.”

There was another silence once again.

“Another thing.” I added. “Jae said that I’m not his child.” I looked at her. “It’s true, isn’t it?”

“Haven’t I…Told you before?”

My eyes widened.

I don’t know if I have tears of joy, or for sadness. But regardless, I’m shocked.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Okay, I'm going to be honest here. I was really shocked at how much positive response there was for this story. I mean, this is the first story in where I had 150 subscribers so fast! Even the math story couldn't compare! So as a gift, here's another chapter! This story is going to be updated every Saturday (When I'm at home, of course.) unless you guys give me another 100 subscribers after an update (which I think is highly unlikely!)

Anyways! Regardless, comment or else Donghae will get hurt by Jae. ELFish wouldn't want that to happen, right?