L
Plectrum of HopeChanyeol finds himself in a vast field. The weather begins to bite him to the bones. The kid is laying on the ground; whimpering and curling his body so he would be smaller. His strangled cries are ignored by a stout kid that's holding a baseball bat smudge with blood. The heavy build boy hits him again with a full blow to his waist and the poor kid chokes blood on the ground. He begs for mercy, but they only laugh and Chanyeol catches the glimpse of hunger in their eyes to cause the boy more pain. The bleeding boy looks up and his eyes find Chanyeol---standing like a statue; unable to move by an invinsible force. His glassy eyes scream for help but Chanyeol floats away from reality when they lock eyes.
He sees himself as a 9 year old.
---
"No....please...please..! Just let me go this once."
Chanyeol's eyes were wild with terror. He did a mistake. A stupid mistake that he wasn't supposed to do. He had told on them.
"Hmm...let's see. You almost ruin my reputation, Chanyeol-ah. And made me very angry. Do you know what it's like when I'm angry, dumbyeol?" His steps were moving closer by the second. Chanyeol could see a small object that reflected light that he held between his fingers.
He loses his balance and falls on the tiled floor of the bathroom. He couldn't get out now. Sang-chul's friend had locked the door of the toilet from the outside. Chanyeol started to feel dizzy. The lights in the toilet were too bright for him.
"Please...let me go. Please." his voice shook in extreme fear. He pushed himself backwards to the wall of the bathroom; his hands scraping the floor.
"Let me show you, the things I'd do---and capable of doing, when I'm angry." Sang-chul's words slurred like a snake.
Two of his friends grabbed Chanyeol's arm tightly, making him vulnerable and helpless. He tried to struggle in their grip and earned a fierce punch to the face. Sang-chul came forward and liftted up the silvery thing in his fingers. Chanyeol's heart dropped to his stomach like an anchor when he saw it was a razor blade.
Chanyeol closed his eyes to make him go away; to make all this go away. His whole body was trembling relentlessly.
"It won't hurt, Chanyeol-ah. I promise." Sang-chul smirked and started to cut the inside of Chanyeol's eyelids.
The pain was indescribable. He screamed and screamed and screamed until no words came out. Then he felt the contact of the sharp blade behind his ears and neck and Chanyeol felt like he was going to die.
When Sang-chul seemed satisfied with his work, he grabbed Chanyeol's collar. "You tell on me again, I swear I'm going to give you worst than hell."
They left the bathroom and Chanyeol plopped to the ground with a dull thud. He couldn't open his eyes. His neck was stinging with pain. The last thing he saw was the same blinding lights above his head before his world turned black.
---
Chanyeol snaps back to reality when he feels his body being shaken persistently by someone. Soo Yun stares back at him with an expression that breaks his heart. He still feels lightheaded and numb from the flashback. His legs feel wobbly and he's about to vomit again.
"Chanyeol! Snap out of it! We need to help him!"
The present comes washing over him like a tidal wave. He bolts towards the boy laying on the ground; unconscious. The bullies had left scrambling when they realized Chanyeol was there and Soo Yun running towards the field.
"Oh my God, we need to get him to the hospital", Soo Yun cries out alarmingly when she notices the amount of bruises on his skin.
"Call the ambulance. Hurry!" he instructs her as he scoops the boy in his arms.
I won't let what happened to me happen to you, kid. Hold on. We're gonna make it.
Chanyeol never liked hospitals. The sterile smell irks him. The blinding white lights and never ending hallways are even more unsettling. They sit side by side on the chairs at the waiting area; anticipating for the doctor to show up with the results. The hospital had called the boy's mother earlier after finding a scrap of paper deep in his shorts that has his mother's phone number. He must've had it in case of emergencies.
"You think he's going to be okay?", Soo Yun ends the dreadful silence since they got here.
"I hope so." Chanyeol nods. Then he says softly, like mumbling it to himself: "I should've stopped them earlier. But I just stood there and watched. I.....I didn't know what got into me." he drops his head into his hands, unable to curb the guilt.
"It's not your fault. You kinda spaced out for a minute. And it freaked me out." Soo Yun tries to comfort him but careful not to touch him. She's afraid he would flinch or pull away.
"I'm alright." he simply says and looks up at her. He gives her a small smile that doesn't quite reach his eyes. With the help of the hospital lights, Soo Yun notices faint outlines on his eyelids when he blinks that looked like old scars. She's about to ask him what actually happened but Chanyeol stands up abruptly to greet the doctor that walks out of the room as he closes the door quietly behind him.
"Are the injuries serious? Is he going to be alright?" the questions flies out of his mouth like speeding bullets and the doctor simply smiles apologetically.
"We've taken care most of his injuries but it seems like he needs to stay in the hospital for a while. I did medical examinations on him and it appears that he had several more serious injuries than today. Old ones from a few months back. I'm afraid we're looking at a serious case of bullying and physical abuse." the doctor explains in a flat tone like he's done it a million times.
Chanyeol nods. He's starting to feel sick again. A few patients and nurses nearby start to stare at him when they pass by and whispers incoherent words behind him.
"Did any of you see the attackers' faces?" the doctor inquires.
"No. They left when they saw me." Soo Yun admits sadly. Chanyeol shakes his head. He was in a far too messed up condition to remember the bullies' faces. But then a thought pops into his head. "Wait. I saw the kid that was hitting him. He was stout and had a long scar on his left arm. But....that's all I remember."
"That should be enough for now. I'll inform the boy's mother that the both of you brought him to the hospital immediately. She will be really grateful. And I'm sure the boy will be, too." the doctor offers them a kind smile. But Chanyeol shakes his head in refusal.
"It's fine. You don't have to do that. But could you...inform me about the boy's condition from time to time?" Chanyeol asks. The doctor looks surprised, but nods and hands him his clipboard and a pen. Chanyeol scribbles his phone number and hands it back to the doctor.
They left after thanking the doctor. Soo Yun smiles to herself when Chanyeol isn't looking. She's amaze at his sincerity and genuine concern. It never came to mind that a famous idol like him is actually a humble man at heart, even after almost two years knowing him. Then her stomach starts to feel funny and she quickly force herself to stop having thoughts about him. But Soo Yun has an inkling feeling that something is bothering him.
Chanyeol checks his phone and notices he had 12 missed calls from Suho. He slaps his forehead in dismay when he checks the time and instantly dials Suho's number. It takes only one ring and hyung's voice booms from the other line.
"Where on earth have you been?!" Suho asks in a panicked tone. There's muffled voices on the other line.
"Something came up, hyung. I'll tell you later. We're heading back now." Chanyeol sighs. He feels dead tired.
"You have to get back pronto. We have a serious problem." his voice sounds alarming and that's all it takes to make Chanyeol dread this day.
{ A/N }
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