The Forbidden Fruit

October, 2010

If I am condemned to hell for loving you, I’m willing to endure the scorching flames of hell for eternity but my feelings for you won’t ever change.


 

“Marriage is the union of two people in relationship. Like a form of contract. Now you all must have heard of the story of Adam and Eve, correct? God created the first two people that united in marriage, a man and a woman.”

Sungjong let out a sigh as he rested his chin on his arms that were folded on his desk. He tried not to fall asleep as he listened to his teacher rant on and on.

It was another boring ethics class teaching students what was right and wrong, what was acceptable and what was not in society. He always thought that these classes only convinced those soft-brained individuals that were easily influenced by their parents and people around them without having thoughts of their own.

“-other forms of marriage must be considered a sin.”

The last sentence seemed as though it was directed at him. He couldn’t understand the rigid mindset of the teacher, of the society in general. Who was society to judge who he could or couldn’t love. Do people not even have the freedom to choose that?

He wished he lived in a world where same- couples were just as accepted, just as “normal” as straight couples. Holding hands, kissing, hugging. Doing things that any other couple did in public and not be judged by anyone.

Although homouality is accepted in some countries, it is still something frowned upon in Korea, especially from the older generation. And living in a country where traditional values are deeply respected, it would be a very long time, if ever, for it to be accepted.

If it’s a sin, I must be the biggest sinner in the world he thought bitterly. He closed his eyes, trying to tune out the teacher’s harsh words and his own depressing thoughts from his mind.

“Ok! Team A vs Team B, go!”

Sungjong opened his eyes upon hearing the whistle that rang outside the window. He could hear shouts and cheers that followed.

Curious of what the commotion outside was about, he sat up and looked out the window. His gaze fell upon the basketball court that was currently occupied by one of the senior classes.

The class was divided into two, each half standing on either side of the court. Two students were standing in the middle. One was dribbling the ball with his right hand while the other stood with his arms out in a defensive position.

Looking closely, Sungjong recognized the familiar charcoal black hair and well-built form of the student who had the ball in his hands. Even though his back was facing Sungjong, he could immediately tell it was Myungsoo.

Sungjong could always identify Myungsoo no matter the situation. Growing up together since they were young, Myungsoo was the leader between the two of them. He remembered when they used to play hide-and-seek with the other kids in the  neighborhood, Myungsoo would hide in the most obvious places for Sungjong to find him.

Flashback

“Sungjong is the seeker!”

The kids quickly dispersed from where they stood, leaving the tiny boy alone near the tree. Sungjong puffed out his usual chubby cheeks into a pout, ressembling that of a blowfish. His arms crossed in front of his chest as he tapped his left foot on the ground. His little eyebrows drawing close, an unamused expression on his face. He was clearly not looking forward to being the seeker.

Sungjong had always been small for his age, making him an easy target for other kids to pick on. He became timid, choosing to keep to himself to avoid being made fun of.

Myungsoo, who was a few months older than Sungjong, towered over him. Seeing Sungjong become the target of bullies brought out the protective instinct in him. By third grade, none of the bullies, not even the older kids, dared to approach Sungjong. Not when their eyes met Myungsoo’s fiery ones glaring at them.

With Myungsoo’s help, Sungjong started making more friends which brought great relief to Myungsoo as he hated seeing Sungjong sitting alone with his head down. Still, he couldn’t help but constantly worry about the smaller boy.

Sungjong covered his eyes under his palms as he counted to twenty. As soon as he reached the last number, he immediately looked around the park, turning his head left and right, to see if anyone was hiding nearby.

He approached the swings then the seesaws then the slides but saw no one there. Feeling discouraged, he was about to call out to his friends when he spotted tuffs of black hair behind the bushes near the tree where he stood just moments ago.

He walked around the line of bushes and sure enough, Myungsoo was crouched on the ground with his face hiding between his knees. Hearing Sungjong approach him, Myungsoo lifted his head and flashed Sungjong a bright smile.

“Oh! You found me, Jongie! You’re good at this.” Patting the dirt off his knees, Myungsoo stood up and walked towards Sungjong. He took the boy’s hand in his and started leading him towards the monkey bars.

“Come on! Let’s go look for the others together! They should be around here somewhere….”

 

Sungjong’s lips unconsciously curled up into a smile as he thought back to the fond memories of his childhood. This didn’t go unnoticed by his teacher, however, and he was broken out of his thoughts when he heard his name being called.

“Lee Sungjong! You dare to daydream during my class? Stand up.”

Sungjong stood up slowly from his seat. His head bowed down in embarrassment as he heard the other students snickering around him.

“Now, tell me what I have been talking about since the beginning of class.”

Luckily for Sungjong, he was listening earlier before he got distracted.

“Marriage, sir.”

“And what about it specifically?”

“It’s a contract between two people.”

“What kind of people?”

His voice was caught in his throat. Sungjong knew the answer he was supposed to give but, for some reason, he couldn’t say it.

The teacher cocked an eyebrow at the unanswered question.

“Silence means you don’t know? Or possibly, you don’t agree?”

“It-It’s not that I don’t agree, sir. I just think that marriage is also possible between people of the same gender.”

The students started whispering among each other upon hearing his answer. There was never a student that challenged the ethics teacher for they knew how intolerant he was of people who didn’t agree on his beliefs.

You idiot, just keep quiet like you always do! Look at the situation you’ve put yourself into.

The teacher shook his head disapprovingly at Sungjong’s response.

“From what you're saying, are you implying that what I’m teaching is wrong?”

“N-No, sir, I’m just-“

“Ahh..Talking back now. You sure have some guts, Lee Sungjong.”

Sungjong’s jaw clenched at the accusation. He had only intended to express his opinion but now he was accused for being rebellious. Before he could say anything else, however, a voice at the back of the room beat him to it.

“I think he’s just trying to give an honest opinion about the topic. Don’t you think you’re overreacting, teacher?”

Looking towards the source of the voice, it turned out to be Lee Howon, otherwise known as Hoya, one of the strongest fighters in the school. Twirling a pencil between his fingers, Hoya stared at the teacher defiantly.

“W-What did you say?”

“I said, you’re overreacting over this bull- of a topic, teacher.”

The teacher’s shoulders trembled in anger as he heard those words. He banged his fists onto the blackboard angrily before pointing a finger towards the door.

“Both of you. Out of the classroom. In the hallway with your hands raised. Now.” Knowing that he would most likely end up like the homeroom teacher that quit school with a bloody nose if he started a physical brawl with his student, he gritted his teeth as he struggled to remain calm.

Hoya stretched his arms above his head and let out a loud yawn before exiting the classroom, ignoring the teacher’s menacing glare. Sungjong followed him out the door. He was surprised how anyone could openly insult a teacher in front of the class. But what surprised him the most was that one of his bullies just saved him from his teacher’s wrath.

As Hoya began walking down the hallway, Sungjong called out to him to thank him but he was interrupted, once again, by the handsome rebel.

“I didn’t do that to help you, just so you know. I just don’t like the way he looks down on people.” he said, coolly, before continuing on his way.

--

Sungjong rubbed his sore arms from raising them for too long above his head. The bell rang, indicating it was lunch time. Students filed out of the classrooms to head to the cafeteria. The teacher gave him one last look as he came out of classroom before turning on his heel.

Sungjong was about to enter his classroom when he saw Myungsoo running towards him, carrying a lunchbox.

“Jongie! Wait up!”

“Myungsoo? What are you doing here?”

Myungsoo grinned as he ed the lunchbox in Sungjong’s hands.

“Here, have this. You didn’t bring lunch, right?”

Sungjong shook his head, surprised that Myungsoo knew about it.

“I can’t have lunch with you today. I have a meeting for this group project that’s due soon. I just came here to give you this. Oh, and I saw you rubbing your arms a moment ago. You’re not hurt anywhere, are you?”

Sungjong shook his head again, too embarrassed to tell Myungsoo about his punishment during class. Myungsoo ruffled Sungjong’s hair affectionately.

“Good. Make sure you eat everything, ok? I’ll check later.” he said, failing to notice the blush on Sungjong’s cheeks.

The whole  time, the scene was witnessed by two certain bullies who looked at each other, knowingly.

Sungjong packed his books into his schoolbag as he prepared to go home. As he was checking to make sure that he didn’t forget anything, he noticed his wallet was missing.

Panicked, he flipped his schoolbag upside down and shook it until all the contents fell out onto the table. But it wasn’t among his things.

It wasn’t the money that he was scared of losing but a photo he deeply cherished that he had always kept in his wallet since he was young. Kneeling down to search his desk drawer one last time, he found a sticky note stuck to the bottom.

If you want your precious photo back, come to the swimming pool to retrieve it.

Even without a name on the note, Sungjong knew who took his wallet. He ran towards the swimming pool and sure enough Sunggyu and Woohyun stood near the pool with the open wallet in Sunggyu’s hand.

“4 minutes and 7 seconds. Impressive. This must be very important to you, Lee Sungjong.” Woohyun pointed towards the photo in the wallet.

“Give it back!” Sungjong yelled, running towards the two boys. He attempted to snatch it out of Sunggyu’s hand but the older boy was taller and he dangled it tauntingly in front of Sungjong.

“What’s the fuss? Oh I see. This must be your lover. Does he pay you well?” he sneered, his eyes filled with disgust.

“Don’t talk about Myungsoo like that.” Sungjong growled. He jumped up to try, for a second time, to take his wallet back but it was too late as Sunggyu flung it into the deep end of the pool.

“Oops. My hand slipped. Guess you better dive in now before your photo gets ruined.” Laughing loudly at Sungjong’s hurt expression, Sunggyu left the pool with Woohyun.

Sungjong quickly jumped into the pool, diving straight towards the bottom. He spotted his wallet on the pool floor and picked it up, cradling it against his chest.

As he started swimming his way back up to the surface, pain shot through his right leg. He flapped his arms violently, trying to move his body upward, but it was no use. Water filled his lungs as he struggled to breathe. His erratic movements slowed down, his strength gradually leaving his body.

The last thing he remembered was the wallet slipping out his hands as his grip loosened. His hand reached out weakly towards it, watching the image of his love sink to the bottom.






---------------------------------author's note------------------------------
hope you enjoy the chapter! Please comment below! <33