Joon walked through the glass doors of the complex with a smile on his face. He’d just gotten back from hanging out with Seungho and he had a really good time. Since neither of them liked to drink they went to a café near the school and hung out for awhile to talk about things. But it had gotten pretty late and they both had class tomorrow, first thing in the morning.

When the elevator stopped on the twelfth floor, Joon stepped off and walked the short distance over to his apartment. He was about to reach for his key, but then he remembered that he hadn’t locked it this morning so he just went in. The lights were on and the first thing he noticed was Mir sitting on the couch looking really bored.

“Hi, Joon,” He said softly. Joon waved at him and set his bag down by the front door and kicked off his shoes.

“What are you doing here so late?” He asked curiously, since Mir hardly ever stayed here past nine; it was close to eleven. Mir put his finger to his lip and pointed over to the kitchen wall. Joon frowned and listened closely and could hear some voices coming from next door.

“Appa’s friends from work are over and since I look like this,” He said, moving his hands to indicate the ratty clothes and fading bruises, “I can’t go home and be seen,” he finished with a frown.

“Uh, why? Whatever, that’s stupid. Did you eat yet, then?” Joon asked as he walked further into his apartment.

“I’m not hungry,” Mir said, but his stomach said otherwise. He felt sort of embarrassed that Joon was always letting him over and fixing up his injuries and feeding him, so Mir didn’t want to intrude anymore. But Joon just gave him a look and went into the kitchen and pulled out an instant ramen cup.

“Here, make this, I’m going to change,” He said, handing the food over to the younger boy. Mir thanked him softly and headed into the kitchen to add some water and stick it in the microwave. While he waited for the three minutes to be over, he leaned against the counter and listened to the conversation he could hear from his own home.

“Where is that your son anyways? I have a cousin that works at the high school and says Mir is one of the best students there, you must be proud!”

“Oh yes, we’re very proud. He spends hours each night working hard on his school work. We can’t wait until the day he graduates from high school and goes to college. Soon enough, it’ll be his time to take over the company!”

Lies.

It was all lies and forced smiles when the conversations turned to him. His parents weren’t proud of him, they never had been and they never would. Even if he had the best grad