I.

14 year old Kim Myungsoo swiftly slid through the house front door, silently shutting it closed. He gently took off his shoes and escaped off to his room, his backpack jumping a bit as he dashed his way in a rushed manner. 

 

"Myungsoo? Is that you?" He heard the voice from a distance that made him freeze. Shaking from fear of getting caught, he managed to stutter without a breaking voice," Y-Ye, umma! I'm going to my room!"

 

With that, he bee-lined his way to his room, slamming it shut. He dropped his backpack onto the carpeted floor and slid his back down the door. Panting and heaving, he gave out a loud, frustrated groan as he ran his hands through his hair. He flinched when the base of his palm grazed his purple bruised eye. 

 

"Ouch." He hissed softly.

 

The pain that he had experienced today wasn't even half of how much was his worst. Even though pain was apart of his daily list of 'things-to-do', he never got used to it. Pain was painful. That'll never change.

 

∞∞∞

 

"Myungsoo-ah! It's time for dinner!" 

 

Myungsoo groaned as he lifted his head that was rested upon his arms on his desk. *Huh?* He thought as he rubbed the sleep from his eyes. "Oh." He said. "It's dinner." He sighed and crawled his way to the door. (The position he slept in at his study numbed his legs.)

 

He skillfully reached up and grabbed the door knob, twisting the door open and falling back onto the carpet without standing up. He stuck his head out a little. "Umma! Can you please leave the dinner at the door again? I'm studying!" 

 

His mom sighed from downstairs and shook her head. *That boy is always studying.* "Alright!" She yelled back and took out a dish to lay out his dinner portions onto. After she finished, she left the plate on a mini table in front of his bedroom door. She knocked a bit and mumbled,"Myung-ah, your food is here." Once she heard an 'uhm. I'll go get it after I finish this', she turned around to leave to the other side of the hall. 

 

She knocked onto the blue door that read 'Moonsoo' on it. She opened the door a little and peeked in only to see Moonsoo on his gaming device. "Moonsoo-ah~" She called lightly. "It's dinner time, come on." When it seemed she grabbed his attention, she left. When she turned around, the table with food in front of Myungsoo's door was gone and she smiled. "Study well, Myungsoo." She whispered and headed to the kitchen. 

 

 The yummy aroma of food filled throughout the whole house which made Moonsoo scramble to the kitchen. He looked around a little. "Awww! Hyung isn't with us again?" Moonsoo whined as he sat on the dining chair. 

 

"Yes, he's busy studying. Your hyung is a very hard worker so let him be." The mom replied and started placing food onto his plate. "Eat." She said and started filling her own plate.

 

∞∞∞

Myungsoo sighed as he took a bite from his dinner. He glared at his worksheet while taking another enormous bite. *Math is a pain in the arse.* He thought solemnly and gave out his nth sigh for the day, grabbing his mechanical pencil and jotting down the next problem. "At least I understand it." He murmured and continued on. 

 

He studied for a couple more hours into the night. Stuck with the books even though he was only in middle school 3rd year. He wanted to work hard and be the best child he could be for his hardworking mother. All he wished was for his other to be happy and proud of him. 

 

Taking a glance at the digital clock rested above his little mini dresser in the room, he blinked. It was already 8:50PM. He stood up and stretched for a while. Grabbing the table from dinner, he gently placed it just outside his room door briefly before shutting it back and locking himself up again. "Now onto biology.." He said, ready for another 2 hours of studying. 

 

He sat back down at his desk and lifted the biology homework, reading it over. He immediately smiled and grasped his pencil tightly in between his fingers. His hand moved like the wind as if this was nothing. 

 

This was how hard he worked to be the best. Not for himself, but for his mother. 

 

∞∞∞

 

"Myungsoo-yah! Time to get up!" A voice knocked from his room door outside. Myungsoo gasped sharply, his head rising rapidly. He blinked the blurriness of his eyesight away and observed his surroundings. The room was bright from the glowing blinds in front of his window. "You have half an hour to get ready!" The voice yelled again.

 

"I'm awake, umma!" Myungsoo yelled back and quickly stood up to get dressed. He had fallen asleep at his desk once again last night from late studying. 

 

It was Tuesday. Another day of learning, torture, and most of all- pain. Myungsoo dashed into the bathroom with a bottle of cream in his hands. He brushed his teeth and did his morning routine before grabbing the tube he brought with him and squeezing a part of the expensive, pale-tan cream onto his fingers. BB Cream. He masked his face with light makeup to make his bruises not noticeable and gave a small smile. Makeup was his last resort and it was what he relied on nowadays. With a little pumped fist, he walked out the bathroom, stuffing the BB Cream tube into his pocket. *You'll make it through today, Myungsoo.*

 

∞∞∞

 

The pain didn't hurt Myungsoo at all. The punches thrown at him, the profanities piling onto his face, it didn't matter. It didn't hurt. The physical pain hurt, of course, but emotionally he was fine. He didn't know why. Maybe it was because he was either 1) used to it or 2) hasn't developed a train of thought for emotions. In other words, a stone cold heart for that one specific criteria. 

 

Who knew? 

 

But the physical pain hurt him the utter most. He groaned as he slid down the bathroom wall which made the punches turn into dirty kicks with their shoes. The pain was unbearable no matter how long, how much he experienced it. *Pain is pain. It won't change, Kim Myungsoo.* He thought to himself, trying to help him a bit which didn't work.

 

"I think that's enough for today." The voice brought Myungsoo back to reality and he looked up. He saw Yongguk smirk along with his friends. He spat onto Myungsoo's face as the other members gave him a last punch or kick. "See you later, nerd. Same time again tomorrow. We'll come pick you up like always." He smirked as the others laughed in the background. "Be lucky we spared you yesterday." Myungsoo faintly heard Yongguk yell from the exit of the restroom. They left. 

 

Myungsoo let a painful tear slip from his eye as he slumped further down onto the filthy tile of the public school bathroom. He sighed and stood up after laying there for who knows how long. He managed to stand up with the support of the slippery wall and stumbled his way to the sink. Examining himself in the mirror, he didn't flinch. He looked... normal. 

 

Nose red with some dried blood dripping to his lips, his lips were busted and open, his still purple eyes now close to black, and his cheeks were starting to bruise. His leg could be badly sprained along with a fractured left wrist. *At least it's not the right.* He thought. *Then how would I do homework?* He smiled at that thought. He was grateful that he could still write. 

 

He carefully rested his left hand onto the countertop as he used his right to open the faucet to wash his face of the remnants of dried blood (and Yongguk's spit). After finishing his wash up, he limped to the classroom to pick up his belongings before trudging his way to his 'clinic'.

 

It was the late afternoon, around 5. The sun was beginning to set and no one was really around at school grounds anymore. His daily 'punch out' was always this late so that no one would catch them 'in the act.' 

 

Myungsoo sighed and fixed his backpack on his shoulder, using the sidewalk wall to support his walk. On his way to his next destination, he thought to himself,

 

*Today was a regular day. Nothing else.* 

 

∞∞∞

 

"Aish, Kim Myungsoo what the hell are you really doing these days to get this injured?!" Hakyeon scolded with a raised voice as he scanned the male at his front door up and down. 

 

Myungsoo just gave a small, guilty smile and winced in pain. It was already hard to keep balance standing up and his hyung's loud yelling didn't make it any better. "C-can you just help me a-already?" Myungsoo whispered at his hyung, then his face scrunched up. "I feel like i'm going to faint anytime now." He all of a sudden stumbled, nearly falling.

 

"Woah there buddy." Hakyeon sighed out as he caught the younger. "Alright, I get it. Questions later. Let's just get you fixed up first." He said softly with worried eyes staring at the younger's black head resting on his chest. 

 

∞∞∞

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A/N: Hi((: Please subscribe and comment!
ALSO, if you haven't read the original installment, Contentedness, then read it before this!!~ Although the order doesn't really matter as I just noticed LOL So really it doesn't matter if you read this first, but the first installment is already completed. 

Hakyeon is N by the way~ Cha Hakyeon is N's real name c: I'm like so in love with VIXX lately LOL<3

Word Count: 1,568

13.12.11