Achtzehn

Sehun sat on the isolated bench located in front of the Han River by himself as he stared out to the glistening, blue water. Traces of dirt still remained on his clothing from the loan shark’s kicks, yet Sehun seemed not to care as he just sat there, slumped down against the bench and staring blankly at nothing in particular.

For the first time in his blessed life, Sehun felt threatened. He felt lost and defeated. He felt as if there was a giant wall in front of him in which he could not overcome; it was a wall so strong and tall that it blocked off the sun that once used to shine on his life.

Oh Sehun had always been living an easy life. He grew up in a loving family, passed his school years with high scores and earned himself a high-paying job almost as soon as he graduated from university as the top student. He lived a life most people would die for, yet suddenly out of nowhere, his parents’ business were nearing bankruptcy, he lost his childhood love and now he has a 500,000,000 won debt to pay back by the end of three months.

Thinking back to how those loan sharks humiliated him and his parents, Sehun clenched his fists together and leaned his head back against the bench as he let out a frustrated shout. He could feel the core of his pride being shaken as suddenly, the traces of dirt left on his clothing seemed unbearable. Standing up from the bench, Sehun began brushing off all dust from his clothing angrily before placing one hand behind his neck, and the other reached for his phone.

No matter how prideful he may be, but in situations like this, all he could do was call for help.

“Aw, come on, hyung!” Sehun cried in exasperation as the twentieth person he called on his contact list refused to lend him money, “I’ll pay you back, please. I promise-“

Beep, beep, beep.

Staring at his phone blankly, it took Sehun a few seconds to register the fact that the friend he used to play basketball with and call each other ‘brother’ just hung up on him. Then, it sunk deep into his pride, and tightening his grip on his phone, Sehun pressed his lips together and dialled the next number.

“Hello?” Taemin’s voice could be heard on the other side of the line.

“H-Hey, Taemin.” Sehun was still feeling hung up over that last call, “Could I ask you a favour?”

“Sure, what is it?” Taemin yawned lazily before smacking his lips together, “Tell me what you need.”

“I…I need money,” Sehun closed his eyes and sat down on the couch in his apartment as he ruffled a hand through his hair, trying to remove the feeling of shame from his heart, “Could you please lend me some? I promise I’ll pay it back.”

There was heavy silence from the other end of the line as Taemin’s cheerful attitude disappeared, and a sigh could be heard before Taemin let out a small cough.

“How much do you need?” Taemin sounded serious.

“Do you have 500,000,000 won on you by any chance-“

“-What the heck, man!? 500,000,000 won!? No way do I have that much money on me!”

Sehun cringed at Taemin’s exclamation, and he dug his fingers into the palm of his hand as he heaved a silent sigh.

“T-Then, how much can you lend me?”

There was another round of silence from the other side of the line, and just when Sehun was about to give up and call someone else, Taemin spoke again.

“I can lend you 10,000,000 won.” Despite the generous offer, Taemin sounded strained, “But that’s the most I can lend you.”

“N-No, that’s fine. Thank you so much.” No matter if he couldn’t get his hands on the full 500,000,000 won, Sehun was just glad that someone was willing to lend him some money, and he continued thanking Taemin whilst bowing to the open air as Taemin ended the call.

Hitching a shallow breath, Sehun slowly straightened his back as he ran one hand over his face. All this begging and pleading was really taking a toll on him. Oh Sehun, the one who people had always praised and asked for help was now the one begging shamele