'Kim Jongin! What is the meaning of this?!'

Kai sat with his back against his bedroom door and his head buried in his hands. He had come second in his final exams again. Now usually this would be an amazing achievement to any child but for Kai, second wasn't good enough. His elder brother had always come first in exams and it was Kai's duty to retain and hold onto that position.

'I-I-I'm sorry mom... Yoonji-ssi only beat me by 1 point...' he stammered

'Yoonji?! You were beaten by Yoonji?! A girl?! My son was beaten by a girl?!'

Kai cowered away in the corner of his room as his mother stood in front of him menacingly. She slapped him hard around the face leaving only a burning sensation and Kai's hurt pride. His father came into the room, back from a hard day's work in the office and he saw his teenage son crying and snivelling in the corner. 'Aish, my son is such a wimp' was all he said before retreating to his office to carry on working through the night. Kai clutched his cheek and placed his water bottle on it trying to bring down the heat from the hit. 

All day, every day. It's like this.

Kai's brother was the president of the school student faculty. He was the important guy in the school, always helping out students as well as keeping up with his school work himself. Any school matters were directed to him to figure out. He was loved by all his teachers and relatives. Kai on the other hand was compared to his brother all the time. Kai was irrelevant. Kai was unloved.

'Jongjae's such a clever boy, isn't he? You must be glad to have a son like him' an auntie would say to Kai's mom

'Ah yes, Jongjae's such an angel. He's applying for universities in a few years time' his mom would reply.

'Omo, Jongjae should try to go to Harvard or Yale or Oxford or Cambridge! I'm sure he'd be able to learn English and study there, being such a bright boy'

'Yes, I'll mention it to him. It's a shame Jongin can't do the same. He can't even get top marks in his year!'

'Aigoo, aigoo... Jongjae is so much more talented than Jongin, isn't he?'

Kai would sit at the table pretending not to hear their conversation. He always hoped his mother would back him up. She never did. 

'Yes. Jongin is a bit pathetic compared to Jongjae and his abilities'

Slowly but surely, Kai began to lose faith in both his parents. Everyday was the same- a replay of the day before.

'My son Jongjae will marry a beautiful woman and bring me beautiful grandchildren'  his mother would say.

'Our Jongjae is destined to be sucessful'

'Jongjae inherited our looks. I'm not sure where Jongin got his from but it's certainly not from us'

'Is Jongin even our child?'

'I will allow my son Jongjae to inherit my business. He is the only one I can trust to not make a mockery of my empire'

'Look at Jongjae. He got top marks in his test again! What did you get, Jongin?'

'Second place again?! That's ridiculous!'

'Why can't you be more like your brother?'

'Jongjae is the perfect child'

'We're so proud of Jongjae'

'I don't know why we bothered having Jongin. It's just putting financial strain on our family'

'I should have never given birth to a second son'

Kai would close his eyes every night and pray; pray for God to send down an angel to protect him from his parents' harsh and scarring wounds.  Every night, Kai would think of a way to escape. He had no one to turn to. He didn't have friends at school. The parents at school thought that Kai's mother was too pushy and overpowering and as a result, no children ever wanted to talk to Kai. He was alone. 

One night, Kai had been at the library trying to study after the school had shut early. He had fallen asleep at the desk there and was woken up by the kind librarian when the doors were shutting and the lights needed to be turned off. 

'Hey, student. Excuse me. We're closing now' 

Kai stood up and bowed again and again. Once for falling asleep in the library, another time for taking up a seat in the library, another time for being there until closing time and another time for making the lady wake him up. The librarian was astounded by his actions. In her entire almost 60 years of living, she had not seen a boy so polite and so scared of upsetting someone with his actions. The fact that he felt the need to bow a full 90 degrees every time made her feel a slight pang in her chest and so she offered the sleepy and worn out Kai a drink of hot chocolate and a lift back home. 

When Kai arrived home, he was met with the usual screams and shouts of his parents. 

'Where have you been, Kim Jongin?! What time is this?!' 

'You must have been out gaming with your stupid school mates. Honestly, can't you just study seriously and make us proud parents? That's all we ask!' 

'Your brother Jongjae has been at home since the school closed to study in his room. Where the hell have you been?!' 

Consumed by exhaustion and fatigue, Kai couldn't hold back his emotions and fought back for the first and last time ever. 

'For Christ's sake, I've been at the library studying! I don't play games! I can't believe my own parents don't know anything about me! I don't have any school friends because their parents tell them to stay away from me because of you! I try my hardest to please you and be a good son but you can't see how hard I try and all my effort! Why the hell should I even bother?!' 

Kai had exploded and both his parents stared at him dumbfounded. Kai trudged his way up to his bedroom and threw all his belongings into a rucksack and a suitcase. Throwing his bag out of the window and carrying the case down, his brother stood in his path.

'Where the hell do you think you're going, Jongin?'

'Hyung... I'm leaving. You don't want me here and they certainly don't want me here either. Let's just make it easier for the both of us okay? Live well hyung and-' 

'What are you doing?'

Kai's father's voice was deep and menacing.

'How dare you! How dare you try and leave this family! G-Go...Go put those bags back upstairs right this instant before I lose my mind' 

Kai stood his ground.

'No father. I'm leaving. You don't love me anyway, I'm just a nuisance... Now get out of my way'

Kai pushed his brother and he fell back down the stairs. It was only 2 steps but he fell straight onto his bottom and his father stared at Kai, unable to believe what he was doing. His mother could only do what she knew how to do- hit him. Kai knelt in front of her and apologised whilst waiting for the final act of humility that would be brought upon him. 

She slapped him twice on the left cheek and once on the right with her straw slipper. Kai let the tears drop down his face as he kept repeating the words, 'I'm sorry mom. Hit me as much as you like. This is the last time.' She would have continued but Jongjae held her wrist.

'Stop it mom. Let him leave. He's your son just as much as I am and if he wants to leave, you should let him' 

Kai bowed one last time to his family, a full 90 degree bow for over 5 seconds and then exited. His final words to his family- 'I'll show you who's number one'. He stayed the night in a shabby doorway of a gritty little chinese antique store, comforted by the heat and the aromatic scent coming from the burning incense in the minature shrine outside and the next morning, he headed over to the library with all his belongings.

The librarian recognised him despite his slightly bruised face and dishevelled appearance. She offered him a bowl of instant noodles and a mug of ginseng tea for strength. She noticed his awful posture having slept in an incredibly uncomfortable postion and so she let him sleep in the staff room and did not once question how he had got into the state he was in. She knew that if he was ready to tell her, he would.

When Kai woke up, he set himself down at one of the library computers and opened up Google.kr. He typed into the search bar and opened up numerous tabs.

Advice for runaway children

What to do if you have run away from home

I have just run away from home. What should I do?

Run away from home

Teenage runaway 

Cannot go home

Alone and homeless

Home-

Kai was interupted from his searching by a boy with a comforting smile on him who had gently tapped him from behind. He first gave Kai a mint candy and bowed to him before introducing himself.

'Hi, my name is Su Ho and... Forgive me for asking but... Have you just run away from home? Are you trying to find somewhere to stay?' 

Kai nodded dumbfoundedly at the boy in front of him. He seemed to know the pain he had gone through. It was as if this boy had the same glint behind his eyes that told of an intricate and hurt past. 

'I'm sorry if this is forward as we've only just met but... I live with 5 other guys in a boarding school and well, if you'd like... You can live with us' 

Kai was unsure of what to say and what to do. This seemed like his only ticket out of homelessness but he was scared. Su Ho could see this. 

'I promise you that the 6 of us will look after you. One of the guys is also a runaway and I assure you, whatever you've done, we've all done just as bad and if not worse... At least think about it? I'll be here tomorrow if you want to take up the offer' 

Su Ho turned to walk away and Kai grabbed onto his shirt. He looked up at the older boy with pleading eyes.

'Su Ho... Su Ho-hyung... I'll come with you! I-I'll come!' 

That night was the first night in years where Kai didn't need to pray to God for an angel. God had answered his prayers and given him an angel in the form of Su Ho, Mr Park and the other 5 boys who had arrived in the dorm at that time. That night, Kai didn't need to think of a way to escape the brutal life with his parents' never-ending comments. That night, sleeping in the same room as Su Ho and Kris, who was also a runaway, Kai knew that he was no longer the second best, the unloved Kim Jongin.

He was a new person- Kai, in his own right and he was free at last.

THE CHAPTERS ARE BACK UP!