O6 | I'm proud of you

Hoya just ran to wherever his feet took him. All of the people walking passed him would stop and stare at his long nose but he couldn’t care less about them. Tears were falling down from his swollen eyes, as he ran into a familiar alley.

He stopped to catch his breath and leaned against the wall of a shop. He sat on the cold ground and tried to calm himself down. He didn’t want anyone to see him like this; no he has to show to everyone that he’s a strong boy.

Just then the door beside him opened widely and a boy was muttering something to himself as he carried a big black bag and threw it in the dustbin.

“Aish, I can’t believe I have to throw away the rubbish.” The boy whined.

When he turned around to go back into the shop, he saw Hoya with his head buried in his legs. The boy couldn’t help but feel curious at who it was. He walked up to Hoya and nudged him slightly to catch his attention.

“A-are you o-okay?” The boy asked slowly.

Hoya looked up at the boy but he couldn’t see his face because his vision was blurred by his tears. Hoya was about to ask him who he was when someone shouted his name.

“Chae Jin-ah! What’s taking you so long?” A boy with red-hair came out from the shop and had an angry face on. But when he saw Chae Jin with another boy, his eyebrow perked up.

“Who’s this?” The red-haired boy asked Chae Jin but he only shrugged.

“Wait, aren’t you that puppet boy?” The red-haired boy asked, pointing his finger at Hoya.

Hoya had recognized the voice and jotted up from his position with a big smile on his face. He bowed at them which made them look at him like he was crazy. Hoya wiped his tears quickly and smiled at them.

“Hello, nice to see you again!” Hoya said.

“So, it is him.” The red-haired boy nodded.

“Seyong hyung, let’s get him inside. I’m sure he’s cold.” Chae Jin smiled at Hoya and motioned him to go inside.

Hoya followed the two boys inside and he immediately remembered the place. It was where he got his first earned money. When he saw Jaemi, he ran up to her and greeted her.

“Hello, master!” Hoya bowed.

Jaemi turned around to face him but was shocked when she saw his nose. She couldn’t stop staring at him which made him feel uneasy. Jaemi realized that she was making him uneasy but then an idea popped up into her mind, causing her to grin evilly.

Just then her brother came in and he was humming to a random song that has been stuck in his head these few days. Jaemi ran up to him, causing her to fall on top of him. Gunwoo was so shocked that he didn’t know what happened.

All his friends laughed at him and his expression. Jaemi was pounding on him chest and grinning weirdly. Gunwoo quickly pushed her off him and gave her a glare.

“What?!” He shouted as he tried to get back on his feet but was pulled by his sister to the ground again.

“Aish, what do you want?” Gunwoo pushed her off him.

Jaemi went closer to him and whispered something inside his ear. Upon hearing it, he had his evil smile on. He looked at Jaemi and nodded vigorously. He motioned all his friends to come to him as he whispered the same thing Jaemi had whispered to him.

All of them got up and looked at Hoya with a mischievous smile. Seconds later, they started to pound on him and hold onto his arms and legs. They locked Hoya up in one of the cages where they keep animals in.

Hoya struggled to get out from the cage, he even tried to kick it open but nothing is happening.

“Let me out!” He shouted, shaking the bars vigorously.

“Not until you earn us some money, Pinocchio~” Jaemi winked at him and told the boys to carry him out to the stage.

The boys groaned but followed her orders. They had a hard time carrying it onto the stage because the cage was heavy and with Hoya in it, it’ll just make it even heavier.

The boys groaned as they put Hoya down onto the floor and exited the stage quickly afterwards. The curtains were covering up Hoya and he could hear a lot of screams and fusses at the other end of the curtain. Hoya felt nervous and scared as he tried to break loose.

“Ladies and gentlemen! Or should I say boys and girls~ I welcome you to Jaemi’s puppet show!” He heard Jaemi exclaim.

Everyone gasped when they saw Hoya and his long nose. There was no reaction which made Jaemi panicked for a second. But then she told her brother to open the cage and let him out. Gunwoo didn’t want to at first but when he saw her threatening face, he did.

Jaemi hold one of Hoya’s hands while Gunwoo hold the other. His friends were at the back, ready to attack if Hoya tries to escape.

“Don’t even try to escape” Gunwoo whispered to him. “This is your job anyway.”

“Let go of me!” Hoya hissed.

“I will. But first, you have to make us rich, wood boy.” Jaemi joined in their conversation and winked at him.

Jaemi then started to do whatever she was supposed to do. She waved her wand and smoke came out, making the audience awed by it. Hoya coughed as he tried to get the smoke away from him.

Jaemi was about to cast a spell on Hoya when someone shouted in a very high-pitched voice. Everyone’s attention turned to the owner’s voice and when Hoya saw who it was, his face lit up.

“Appa!” Hoya squealed.

“Y-yah, let g-go of my son!” Sungyeol said as he made his way to them with his friends behind him.

“Sungyeol, why are you stuttering?!” Sunggyu smacked the back of his head. “You should sound tough and scary, not weak and small!” Sunggyu sighed and rolled his eyes.

“Who are you?” Gunwoo asked.

“I’m the father of Hoya!” Sungyeol said proudly as he pounded his chest a few times.

“What the heck? Whose father?” Jaemi asked.

Sungyeol didn’t answer and ran up the stage to help Hoya. When he grabbed onto Hoya, Gunwoo grabbed onto his shirt. Sungyeol looked down at him from head to toe – he was much shorter than him. He raised a brow at him and gave him a glare.

“Let go of me!” Sungyeol shouted but Gunwoo’s grip just got tightened.

Sungyeol decided that the best thing for him to do was to fight for Hoya. But it didn’t go quite so well for him when he was sent flying down the stage. All the kids in the audience screamed and panicked as they backed up away from the stage.

Sunggyu told Dongwoo and Sungjong to bring the kids out from there and keep them safe until everything was over. They did exactly what he told them to do and brought all the kids out. Jaemi realized the situation wasn’t going so good.

“Oppa, why’d you do that? Our money is running away!” She hissed.

Gunwoo ignored her though and went down the stage. Before he could do anything to Sungyeol, Hoya came to the rescue. He kicked and punched Gunwoo wherever he felt was necessary until Gunwoo couldn’t fight anymore.

Gunwoo’s friends got down from the stage and held up their fists. Insoo attacked first but he got flipped by Hoya. Next was the red-haired boy, Seyong. He wasn’t sure what he should do but he just did whatever his mind told him to.

Having the advantage of being flexible, he was able to dodge Hoya’s punches and kicks. Smirking, he punched Hoya in the face but it backfired when he felt pain. Seyong waved his hand as he shouted in pain. Guess Hoya had more advantages being made out of wood.

Woohyun and Myungsoo joined in and helped him to fight off Seyong. Hoya turned his gaze towards the two other boys who were far away from him.

“No thank you.” Both Chae Jin and Joongyu said as they waved their hands vigorously in front of them.

Hoya raised an eyebrow but smiled at them. He bent down and wrapped his arm around Sungyeol’s waist to help him get up. Sunggyu came in to help him by putting Sungyeol’s arm around his neck and wrapped his arm around Sungyeol’s waist too.

They both helped Sungyeol to walk properly and then Woohyun and Myungsoo joined in. They pretended to be hurt badly and helped each other to walk.

“Are you okay?” Sunggyu asked Sungyeol when they arrived at home.

Sungyeol nodded and turned to look at Hoya. “Are you?” He asked.

“Yeah, you should rest, appa.” Hoya smiled as he patted Sungyeol’s shoulder, which made him winched.

“Ow, yah! It hurts there!” Sungyeol cried out.

“Oh, sorry.” Hoya quickly took his hand off.

Woohyun and Myungsoo were on the couch, resting their ‘aching’ bodies. They didn’t hurt themselves so badly but it still aches. Dongwoo and Sungjong came back after sending the kids home to their parents. Suddenly, Hanhui appeared with a worried look on her face.

“W-what happened?” She asked as she looked at Sungyeol’s shoulder.

“There was a fight and…” Sunggyu’s voice trailed on.

“Are you okay?” Hanhui asked Sungyeol and he nodded.

“Can you treat him?” Hoya asked.

“Well, not really. My specialty isn’t treating sick or injured people, it’s to help people.” Hanhui frowned at the fact that she couldn’t help him.

“It’s okay. Just help me get into my room and I can rest.” Sungyeol smiled at Hoya and Hanhui, reassuring them that he’s fine.

“Let me help.” Hoya said when Sungyeol got up from the chair but he didn’t let Hoya. He looked at Sunggyu and they both nodded.

Sunggyu helped him to get to his room and lie down on his bed. Seconds later, he came out and turned off the lights before closing the door.

Everyone was gathered at the living room but no one was saying anything. It was rather different than the usual atmosphere. Usually, things would be very loud whenever they are together, but not today.

“Um…” Sungjong started to say and everyone looked at him. “I’m not sure if anyone noticed this but Hoya’s nose is still long.”

“If he wants it to be normal again, he has to tell the truth.” Hanhui explained.

Everyone turned their gaze to Hoya and he nodded. He started to tell them everything that happened to him that day. When he was done, his nose turned back to normal. Hanhui smiled when Hoya told the truth and she made up her mind.

Sungyeol, who was secretly listening to him, was also smiling when Hoya told them about the truth, which made him feel proud of him.

That night, when everyone was sleeping, Hanhui went back to Fairy World. She went to the Head Fairy’s office and told him what happened.

“I think it’s time for me to…you know.” Hanhui said, looking at the Head Fairy.

“Yes, you’re right. He deserves it. He has done well.” The Head Fairy responded and smiled at her.

Hanhui couldn’t help but to smile widely at him and before she left, she gave him a 90^o bow.

“Thank you, father!” She shouted before she left. 

One more chapter maybe? :) anyways, I have nothing to say here xD hope it's okay~ ^^