“Hello.” I looked up from my paperwork to see a tall kid with a huge grin plastered on his face. He had blonde hair with some blue color on his bangs. The brightness of his hair somehow made his skin even paler. His face was drained out of color and his lips chapped. Even with that smile on his face I could see the tired and pained look in his eyes, just like the rest of the people in here.

“I’m Junhong. I’m new here.” He continued, the smile on his face didn’t waver just one bit. It got even brighter if that was even possible. Weird. I never expected anyone who came here to smile like that. Unless he was miraculously fully healed – which rarely happened –, he was making a ruckus that happened to be some kind of thrill he had longed for or he belongs to the ward on the farthest corner of the building.

“Hey, Junhong. I’m Yongguk. It’s very nice to meet you.” I set down my pen and smiled at him. He sat down on the chair across my desk and just stared at me. I waited for him to speak but he never did so I went back to my paperwork. After a good few minutes he finally spoke up.

Bang Yongguk, 22 years old, currently a music student in a pretty famous university. I work in a rehabilitation center, taking care of drug addicts, alcoholics, suicidal people and sometimes the mentally challenged ones. Lots of people with lots of different problems come but rarely go away only after a short period of time. Most are stuck for a long time inside this pristine, sterile white building.

I’ve been working in this place for about 5 months and I could remember the first weeks as if it was yesterday. I had a hard time adjusting with the new environment. I had to deal with the occasional tantrums of the junkies, the mood swings of the bipolar, the antics of the mentally challenged, the questions from all the patients, whether they made sense or not. It was overwhelming, to put it simply. I honestly thought I would end up as one of the patients there if I had to stay for another minute there.

But with some support from the other workers and volunteers, along with the realization of my thinning wallet, I managed to get through. They pay is good and work hours are pretty flexible. I might not get another job like this so I held on to it.

I was sitting quietly, doing my paperwork on one of those rare peaceful days when the blonde kid showed up. The first time I saw the smile on his face, I wondered why he was even there in the first place. Sure, he looked tired and his eyes hid something I couldn’t exactly put my fingers on, but that smile of his wasn’t exactly forced or fake. It was a sincere smile from a young teenager.

“Yongguk hyung, what do you live for?” He asked. It was a question that took me by surprise. I tried to look for an answer but I couldn’t find any. I looked up from my papers and met his curious gaze.

“I don’t know. What about you?” I flashed him a smile. He only returned it and abruptly stood up.

“Can you show me around, hyung?” I nodded and he excitedly dragged me all over the place. I showed him the recreation room where there are TV and lots of DVDs. We went to the library where he said he would spend some time there soon. I showed him the garden and he looked really pleased when he could lie down on the grass and smell the blooming flowers.

“Seora Noona already explained the rules and other necessary stuff beforehand. She wanted to show me around but something came up and the others needed her right away. She told me to go and find you because she said we’ll get along well.” I hummed in response as we walked to enter the building. Seora is one of the volunteers working in the center. She had been here longer than me even though she is younger than me by two years.

“Hyung, I know it’s forbidden but can you take me to the rooftop?” He stopped and tugged my shirt.

“Sorry, Junhong, we can’t. It’s dangerous there. Even the workers here can’t go up there.” He let out a whine and pouted.

“Please, hyung? I know what I’m doing and I won’t do anything stupid. I won’t jump off or push you, promise!” He made a motion of crossing his heart and held up his hand. He kept his puppy dog eyes at me and I had to give in. I know well enough to differentiate people’s mental behavior and there were no red lights about Junhong.

“Don’t you dare try anything funny, okay?” He beamed and nodded eagerly. We walked to the rooftop, chatting about stuff here and there. Once I opened the door for him, he stood in still and closed his eyes as the strong gush of wind hit his face. He took a deep breath before tugging my shirt and leading me to the fenced edge.

“H-hey, Junhong…” I was getting nervous by each step he took but he turned to me and gave me a reassuring smile.

“Nothing funny, I already promised!” He sat down and leaned on the wall. He patted the spot next to him and I sat down. He looked up to the sky and stretched his long limbs.

“I’ve always liked being on the rooftop. Looking up at the blue sky on a clear day like this is very nice, isn’t it? And the wind is really pleasant.” Junhong yawned and messed with his blue bangs.

“You want to know why I’m here, don’t you?” He looked at me and I was caught off guard. He must’ve seen the confusion in my eyes because he only chuckled.

“You looked like you were deep in thoughts and I just came into a conclusion that you were wondering why I’m here.” He lightly said. I cleared my throat.

“Well yeah. You don’t seem… you know, sick. You look and sound absolutely fine.” I shrugged. He looked down to his lap and hummed in reply.

“It’s not like those people who look fine don’t have any problems, right, hyung?”

“True.” I felt like he didn’t want to talk about it so I left it at that.

“So, how old are you? You don’t look a year over 17.” He chuckled and scratched the back of his head.

“Well that’s because I’m not even 17 yet. I’m still 15.” I widened my eyes at that. Barely 17 yet but he’s already here?

“How about you, hyung?”

“I’m 22.” He nodded. A somewhat awkward silence was there and we both stared into space.

“How do you feel about working in here?” He broke the silence.

“I guess it’s okay. Probably not the job everyone would prefer but I think it’s fine. I mean, when you live alone and attending university, you can’t really complain about the jobs you have as long as you pay rent on time and keep food in your stomach.”

“Ah, I see. That makes sense. Did you pick this job specifically or it’s a coincidence that this job is available? I mean, there are lots of jobs with a better pay than here, right?” Now that I think of it I didn’t know why I even applied for this job in the first place.

“I don’t know. It’s close to my place, I guess? My friend used to work here and she was moving to another job. She kind of offered me her place because I was tight on money so I took it in the end. I just kept doing it.”

“Oh… What do you feel about the people here, then?” This kid asked a lot of questions. I wasn’t bothered or anything but yeah. He’s one curious kid.

“It’s… I don’t know… Am I supposed to feel something?” He chuckled and patted my shoulder.

“There’s a lot you don’t know, huh, hyung?” I raised my eyebrow at him, giving him a weird look.

“Some people would pity the people who are here. Some even mock them, calling them crazy and stuff. Calling rehabilitation centers a ‘nuthouse’ full of ‘nutcases’ and ‘freaks’. I think it’s really unfair that they – I mean, people like me, since I’m here too, are called all those bad stuff. We just taste a bit of freedom that is laid out in front of us, and probably took it a bit too far. But hey, we’re humans too. What kind of human doesn’t make mistakes?”

“But some people here are born with it. Genetic problems and such. Some people who went out eventually come back here with the same problem. Like a guy called Youngwoon who has to spend time here because he has anger problems. Or the junkie, Cheolyong, who almost killed someone when he was lacking his daily dose. They’re just repeating their mistakes over and over again. And the ‘nutcase’ problem… Ah! That girl, Minzy. She threw a huge tantrum yesterday and within 10 minutes she was giggling happily. I’m sorry but, of course some people would call her a freak.”

“I have to agree with you on Youngwoon and Cheolyong. They probably don’t have enough will to get over their problems… But you know that some people, even if only a few, go out from here and lead a normal life, right?” I nodded at his statement.  He also nodded and continued.

“Minzy… What happened to her?”

“Her boyfriend cheated on her and broke up with her. Quite harshly, I think. Then he brought their child away to live with his new girlfriend.”

“Then why would people call her a freak?” He said with sadness evident in his voice. He sounded heartbroken for a girl he never met before.

“What would you do if the love of your life went away with your child to go and stay with another person? See, this is why it’s unfair. They judge people like Minzy without even knowing the story behind everything. She has a scar in her heart and she couldn’t take it. People should support her instead of mocking her like that.” He was getting worked up and started breathing heavily. I stayed quiet and got ready to assist if something would happen. But then he took a deep breath and calmed himself.

“Society is unfair. People are unfair. I just wish people would at least try to understand us. Get to know us. Help us, you know? We don’t need pity. We don’t need money. We don’t need expensive things. Sometimes we just need love…” Junhong whispered the last bit and he seemed so distant at that time. Then he suddenly lit up again and stood up.

“Hyung, I’m hungry. Can we get something to eat?” His smile looked different now. He was hurting, I could tell. I got up and he skipped to the door leading to the stairs.

I stared at the 15 year old boy’s back and wondered just how broken he is.

A/N : My take on a slightly serious matter. What do you think?