Taekwoon woke up to the feeling of soft lips to his neck, it was way too early and he was still tired. He didn't even made the effort to open his eyes, because he would close them right away to enjoy the warm feeling he felt by the gesture of his boyfriend. Hongbin was sitting on Taekwoon, his hands were buried in the dark black hair. When he noticed that Taekwoon had woken up he pecked his lips gently and smiled at him.

"Good morning, sweetheart." he said with his naturally deep and soft voice, which made Taekwoon's heart skip a beat every time he heard it.
He loved the sound of his voice, it's like the most beautiful melody he had ever heard in his entire life.
Just by now he noticed that it was the first time Hongbin used a nickname besides Leo. It made his heart flutter even more.

"Morning" he tiredly mumbles and slowly opened his heavy eyes, which immediately locked with Hongbin's.
Taekwoon's bed stood right under a window through which the sunlight shone right into the bedroom. The golden light was shining at Hongbin from behind, made him look like the angel he was. His angelic smile primed the picture and made it perfect. In moments like these Taekwoon wished that he could take pictures with his eyes, he wanted to keep this picture in his mind forever. He wants to be with him forever.

"We need to get up, breakfast is ready" Hongbin whispered. Taekwoon didn't responded, instead he gently pulled Hongbin down to him to lock their lips.
The kiss was soft and made both male feel warm. Taekwoon wrapped his arms tightly around Hongbin's chest and pulled him even closer.
They both enjoyed the nearness and wished that the time would stop.

A voice from behind the door interrupted the two boys "Breakfast's ready!". Hongbin slowly pulled away and gave Taekwoon a last kiss on the cheek before he got up and helped his boyfriend to get up as well. Taekwoon was still too tired and all he wanted to do was staying in bed all day with Hongbin, doing nothing but cuddling. Hongbin chuckled at the sleepyhead and pulled Taekwoon's shirt over his head, let it drop on the bed and handed him another one. Taekwoon sighed and pulled the white shirt and grey sweatpants on.

"I don't want to move..." he wined but Hongbin ignored it and gently pulled his boyfriend in the living room, where Jaemi, Hyuk and Taekwoon's dad were already sitting on the dining table. Both, Taekwoon and Hongbin, felt totally nervous and were unsure how to act in front of them. Jaemi welcomed them with a warm smile and greeted them with her sweet voice. Hongbin and Taekwoon sat down on the table and the black haired male immediately reached out for the coffee pot.

"Let me do it" Taekwoon's father laughed "In your condition you'll just burn yourself by spilling the coffee everywhere but in your cup" he said. That made the others chuckle as well. Taekwoon let his father help him and as soon as his cup was filled with the vital power source he took a sip and smiled lightly. When he loved one thing as much as he loved Hongbin, then it undoubtedly was coffee. Without coffee he was not able to start a day properly or even wake up fully. He needed it as much as he needed the air that filled his lungs to keep him alive.

"What are your plans for today?" Jaemi asked. Taekwoon shrugged his shoulders "We haven't planned anything yet." he answered.

"How about planning your 18th birthday? There're just two days left and you still haven't told us what you want to do." his father said.

"That's because I have no idea what I want to do maybe we could eat out.. something like that.." He took a slice of bread and put it on his plate.
He let his gaze wander over the table and shortly after he reached out for the jam and put some on it.

"Sounds good to me. Do you want to decide where we go or should we search for a restaurant?" Jaemi asked.

"You can do it if you want to" he answered and Jaemi nodded in response. Meanwhile Hongbin started to fix Taekwoon's messy hair. Slowly the couple lost the tension they've felt for the past ten minutes. Everyone was acting like nothing had happened and the couple was really thankful for that. Also they didn't asked any weird or uncomfortable questions. They just smiled and seemed to be happy for Taekwoon and Hongbin.

                                                                                                                             * * *

Three hours later Hongbin was on his way back home. His parents had tried to call him about ten times and messaged him every twenty minutes that he has to come home. They want him to study and to write good grades as if that was the only thing they could love about him: His grades. Sometimes he wondered if they even loved him for the person he was or just for being good in school. That they pressure their son way too much and that he is slowly breaking under everything they put on his shoulders doesn't seem to be important to them. Even on the weekend they wanted him to stay home and study like a robot.
Hongbin was not a robot, he was human and a human needs a break from studying from time to time. He was not a machine who was able to work intently 24/7.
He needed a break but how should he tell his parents that he wanted to have more space and free-time? They won't allow it, not even in a thousand years.
At least they had allowed him to stay at Taekwoon's place for one night. He hated the feeling of not being good enough and he wasn't for his parents.
And as it seemed, he never will be. It slowly made him desperate. All he wanted was to be and especially feel loved by his parents. Why can't they be like his Grandmother? She always cared about his health, physically and mentally, and always wanted the best for him. In times like this he missed his Grandmother so much that it hurt him like nothing else ever did. When he was younger and even now he wished that his Mother should be exactly like his Grandmother.
He had spent so much time with his Grandmother, maybe it was enough to actually call her a mother. She was more like a mother to him as his biologically mother and this fact is what saddens him the most. Why can't she just give him the love and attention he desperately needs? He didn't wanted to go home and face them. He knew that his father would shout at him and that maybe he will slap him again. It started when Hongbin was around 14 years old that his father would hurt him physically when he didn't bring home good grades, what pressures Hongbin even more. His mother had never said anything about it or even tried to stop her husband. She didn't even tried to calm Hongbin down when he cried for hours in his bedroom. He felt left alone in the world. What did he do wrong in his life that his parents treaded him like this? What had he done to them? He couldn't tell. Whenever he asked his parents they only answered that he had to bring home good grades and achievement. When they've found out their son was gay, it all got worse. His father never talked to him in a normal voice again and his eyes had always this disgusted expression in his eyes. He wished that he had never told them that he preferred guys.

Hongbin was sitting in the train, looking out the window and directly into the sky while a tear were running down his cheek.
"I miss you so much" he whispered and thought about all the happy time he had with his grandmother. The days with her were full of laughter and love.
He wiped away the tears that spilled more and more and tried to distract himself with other thoughts. It didn't change anything, the tears won't stop running down his cheeks.

"Are you alright?" a unfamiliar voice asked and Hongbin looked in the direction the voice came from. A light blonde haired guy, Hongbin guessed that he must be around 18, sat in front of him. Hongbin nodded "Yeah" he said and patted his cheeks to bring himself to stop crying.

The guy chuckled incredulous "You don't really seem to be okay." he said "Do you want to talk about it? Maybe it helps you a bit."

"I don't know what to talk about anymore" Hongbin looked to the ground. He really didn't know what he should say about this topic because nothing will be able to cause a change. It was his own fault that his parents disliked him and that stranger was not in the position to change the minds of his parents.

"Maybe we could talk about something to distract you." He responded and thought for a second, before he asked "What do you like to do in your free-time?"

Hongbin looked at him for a few seconds without saying anything before he giggled bitterly and unhappy said "What free-time?"

"So there's the problem?" the blonde asked. He seemed to really care but Hongbin didn't wanted to open up to a total stranger.

He ignored the question and asked one himself "What about you, what do you like to do in your free-time?"

The stranger accepted that he didn't wanted to answer the question so he started to talk about his hobbies "I'm doing music. I'm a underground rapper, maybe you've already heard of me. Everyone who's interested in underground rappers knows my name, Ravi. I have published my own songs on different social network sites so there's a slight chance that you've already heard of me."

"Ravi?" Hongbin asked as he tried to remember something related to the rapper's name but he couldn't find anything.
"No.. never heard of you." he admitted "Do your write your music yourself?" he asked.

"Of course I do" Ravi laughed "Otherwise I couldn't bring up the feelings when I rap. My texts tell my story. I'm processing what I've been through and that was a lot." Then Ravi started to smile "See, you've stopped crying" he said.

Hongbin looked surprised when he realized that he blonde was right: He really had stopped crying. He slightly smiled back at him "Thank you" he said.

"No need to thank me." he responded.

"Is Ravi your real name?" Hongbin asked curiously. He was sure that this was not his actual name.

The blonde male shook his head "No, it's not. It's just a stage name, my name's Kim Wonshik."

Hongbin's eyes widened as soon as he realized that in front of him was sitting Taekwoon's Ex-Boyfriend. The one who hurt him so much, the one who tore him apart. Of course Wonshik noticed the change in Hongbin's expression and he got suspicious.

"You alright?" he asked with lightly narrowed eyes.

"E-Everything's fine" Hongbin stuttered and got up from his seat "I need to go off this station, it was nice to meet you, uh, Wonshik" he said and left the train as soon as the door opened, leaving a puzzled Wonshik behind.

"What the hell was that..." he asked himself as the train started moving again, bringing him to his destination.

Hongbin didn't really had to go off at this station but he didn't wanted to be in there with Taekwoon's ex. He seemed to be a nice person but the fact that he was his own boyfriend's Ex made Wonshik unsympathetic to Hongbin. The brown haired male shook his head and went to the next bus stop, it would take him about fifteen minutes from there to be finally home.

                                                                                                                             * * *

"Where have you been for so long, huh?!" Hongbin's father shouted at him as soon as the door was shut.

"The train was delayed." he lied and got a slap in his face right after it.

"Don't lie to me" his father growled angrily. Hongbin looked to the ground "I've forgot the time when I was at Hyuk's place. I'm deeply sorry that it took me so long to get home, father." he said in a thin voice.

His father gritted his teeth but nodded "Go to your room and continue studying. You have an exam on Monday." he instructed and his son obeyed without saying a word. Quietly he went up to his bedroom and locked the door. He let himself fall on his bed and cried in his pillow. He hated it here. He wanted to go back to Taekwoon so bad, he also missed him already. The feeling in his chest made him feel like he was drowning on the air he was breathing.
Hongbin was sure that as soon as he had finished school he would move out and cut the contact with his parents. They wouldn't care anyway.

"I hope you've locked your door because you don't want to be distracted while you're studying for your exam!" his mother shouted through the door when she tried to enter the room of her son. Hongbin didn't said anything he was just lying on his bed, quietly crying.

'I want to get out of here...'  he texted to Taekwoon who replied shortly after:

Leo <3, 3:46p.m.
"What happened?"

Hongbin: "My parents happened. I can't take their bull anymore Taekwoon, I'm going nuts here!"

Leo <3, 3:47p.m.
"Want me to come over?"

Hongbin smiled at the offer and wiped away his tears.

Hongbin: "No, they won't let you in. I'm thinking about sneaking out of my window."

Leo <3, 3:48p.m.
"Don't you think that this is a totally bad idea? You'll get into trouble and I don't want my Binnie to be in trouble."

A warm feeling spread through his chest as he read the nickname, which was just used by Taekwoon.

Hongbin: "Do we see each other on your birthday?"

Leo <3, 3:51p.m.
"Of course we do! I love you Binnie <3 If you need something you can call me at any time."

Hongbin: "I love you too Leo and I will! <3 For now I need to study... We'll see each other on Monday!"

Leo <3, 3:53p.m.
"Cannot wait to have you around me and to kiss the hell out of you ~"

Hongbin was so glad to be able to call Taekwoon his. He sighed and god up from his bed and unmotivated as he was he went to his desk and sat down on his chair. He needed to study and it didn't matter if he wanted to do it or not. He wanted to make his parents proud, even when they treated him badly.

For the next hours Hongbin tried to concentrate on his learning but the encounter with Wonshik was stuck in his head. He had to admit that Wonshik was good looking and he seemed to be a nice person. He wanted to get to know more about him, not because he's interested in Wonshik, not at all.
Hongbin just wanted to know what had happened between him and Taekwoon and Hongbin was sure that he will find out.

_________________________________________________

Heyo!

So, Ravi's first appearance in this story!

Sorry that the chapter is so short but I'm not feeling well today and I wanted to write a new chapter... It would've been better if I sleep more but whatever!
Hope you enjoyed it and you got more info's about Hongbin's inner feelings... poor Binnie...

See you next chapter!!