Loud screams could be heard inside a large and magnificent looking mansion. The cement and stone walls, although thick and perfectly aligned, were still unable to hide the commotion going on inside as a flock of birds took off from a nearby group of trees after the sudden scare. What was once supposed to be a bright and cheerful day became a dark one as another family argument took place in the Kwon residence.

“What's the ing deal?! Can't I do one thing without you blowing up on me? I'm a grown adult! I can make my own choices without your breathing down my back!” brown, glaring eyes met a set of angry blue ones behind black reading glasses as Jiyong stood up from his seat after being yelled at for making a mistake on his music harmony homework. What was the point of these lessons anyways? It wasn't like he was going to become a music teacher any time soon. The complicating many rules of the different ways in writing each chord giving the younger male a headache as he grimaced, growling at his father. The boy had taken every single lesson, every single class his father threw at him, but no matter what it was, his results never satisfied his father. His marks just weren't ever enough. Having finally taken enough of this his father threw at him all his life, Jiyong decided to end the lessons. He wasn't going to waste away his life on something he didn't like to do. He's 19 years old already. He was already an adult, and he wanted to go on living life without his father controlling him. He wanted freedom. Why couldn't his father give him that?

“Oh, so now you're a big boy. You can make your own choices. Good for you! Without your father here, you would be nothing! You wouldn't even have the money to do all the things I've granted for you! You wouldn't even be here, well fed. You wouldn't be wearing nice clothes like you are! And what do I get in return?” The man yelled in his toughest, stern voice, hand pressed up at his chest as he pointed at himself dramatically. His face turned a bright red in anger as he stared at his rebellious son, who he knew was just so different from himself. Why did this being have to exist? Why couldn't he just have a normal son? So many questions flooded the mind of the 40 year old man as he questioned his son's existence. The father smirked as he quirked a brow up musingly. “If you think you're such a smart , such an amazing person, then go out and make a living. Go. I dare you. Leave my house this instant! Pack all your , I want you out of the house! Don't you ing return to this house after setting foot out the door again, bastard!” the man yelled, voice furious as he approached his son, his face an inch from his son's as he kept his voice up, making sure none but anger was portrayed from his tone as he spoke.

Jiyong didn't give a damn. He laughed in his father's face, not even flinching the slightest bit as he watched his father approach him. The boy never even moved a muscle. After a moment of silence, the male nodded. He nodded slowly at his father as he quirked one side of his lips up in an evil snicker. “Is that what you want, then? If that's what you ing wanted all these years, then why didn't you say so sooner? Rather than wasting all my time trying, TRYING to impress you, when I know clearly I'd never be able to do that.” he said, lowering his voice slightly as he stepped away from his father, hands tightening in fists as he narrowed his eyes at him. “After all, I did kill her.” he let out after a few seconds of silence. “You've always blamed me for it. Ever since I was bor-”

“Shut up...” the man in front of the 19 year old spoke calmly. Too calmly. His face emotionless like a blank slate as he stared at his son, lips unmoving. The man stared all too blankly at his son for the first time.

But Jiyong didn't stop there. , he didn't even bother to listen to his father's command. “Ever since I was born, you've always silently accused me of killing her!” he screamed angrily, hand gesturing at himself, continuing before his father could interrupt again. “You accused your own son of murdering his mother! And for what reason? Because I was cursed. Cursed with this ugly virus that will forever torment me for the rest of my life! Did you think I wanted this? Did you ing think that I wanted to kill my own mother?! All these years, you never even bothered to see me for who I really am. You just saw the beast inside of me.” he shook his head slightly as he looked down at his feet. He pursed his lips in a frown, not wanting to look at his father, who'd suddenly grown silent. “You never loved me..” he spoke the last few words before running to his room.

Jiyong knelt down by his bedside, gritting his teeth harshly, rubbing them against each other as he fought a sob. His head constantly telling him not to cry. He didn't want to at all. No, he was too old for this. His hands reached out to his closet as he stuffed all his favourite clothes into his bag. Shirt after shirt, pants after pants and jeans after jeans, he continued packing until his bag was full to the top. He quickly threw in a comb and his toiletries, as well as his laptop before snatching his cell phone and sticking it in his jacket pocket. The boy eyed the house keys lying on his bed, shaking his head a little. He won't be needing those anymore. Jiyong swore to himself that he wasn't ever going to return home again. Finally deciding that he'd packed everything, the blond left his room in silence.

The house was unusually silent as Jiyong headed out of his room. His father probably left the house to the bar or something to drown himself from the stress of their argument. Jiyong's face emotionless as he stepped out of the house, not bothering to lock the door. He didn't care. His father was a stranger to him now. That man, the one person he'd lived with for 19 years was nothing more than just another person who he was forced to live with because he had no one else. It was true, though, and neither of them ever denied this all these years. The father, ever since his wife passed away, had never once forgiven his son. It was because Mrs. Kwon persisted on giving birth to Jiyong even after what happened to her in the forest when the couple was out having lunch at the park nearby. A beast... a monster. Something came out from the trees, attacking the woman as she screamed. The man just barely protected her, slaying the horrid creature after it slashed at the woman's belly. The woman, crying from the pain, held her tummy where her baby was, as her husband ran over to examine and treat the wound. None of them knew that the slash was a future curse on the fetus inside of her.

Jiyong shook his head a bit, shaking off the memory of what he'd been told as a kid from his own uncle. The memories pained him. The worst part was that his father wasn't the one who told him. No. It was his uncle. That was the beginning, when Jiyong first started thinking that his father hated him. He never mentioned it, but he sensed his father's attitude towards him. The old man would aways treat other kids better than his own son. The boy never questioned his father, thinking that his father just didn't know how to show his emotions. That all left when his father started paying money to so many lessons just to keep his son busy. Away from him. Jiyong knew it. He read his own father's disappointment each time the lessons were cancelled for one reason or another. He noticed the man distance himself away from his only son every time they were home. Jiyong grew hurt when that started happening. Yet, he still hoped, for even a tiny bit, that he was only overthinking things. Of course, at the back of his mind, the blond knew he wasn't.

Stopping at a bus stop, Jiyong sighed to himself, turning to the map that was stuck to the bus stop sign, staring at the many routes he could take from the stop he was at. After a few minutes, he decided to head to the mall, maybe get a few drinks and call out a couple of friends. The male didn't have many because a lot of people were afraid of him. Whenever he tried to meet people, they would back away from him. For some reason, the male's intimidating glare made them freeze. They knew he was different. They knew he wasn't entirely human just from the colour of his eyes. His always changing from black to gold eyes.

Maybe that was why his attitude began to change. The male stepped into the bus as it stopped in front of him, walking all the way to the back of it after paying, resting his back up against the seat as he laid his head back. Sighing to himself, Jiyong closed his eyes, deep in thought, yet trying to take a nap, calming his mind on the long ride to the mall. The past flashed through his mind as he slowly drifted into sleep. Recalling his childhood, the blond dreamt of himself walking down the school halls, kids clearing quickly from the hall as if he was some rabid dog. The flashbacks of a cute girl, someone he had a crush on, running away from him just as he reached for her. Miyoung... That girl didn't even give him a chance. When he was finally 17, the blond finally decided to ask the girl to prom because, for many years, he'd loved her so much, yet could never approach her because people kept pulling her away each time he approached. Having finally caught her alone at the right moment, he approached her, giving his best smile, trying to impress her.

“Miyoung-ah!” he called out to her, earning an alarmed expression from the girl he loved, followed by a nervous expression as she leaned on her locker after closing it with her school bag inside. The brown haired girl looked up, slightly avoiding eye contact with the other male as she pursed her lips in a cute pout before looking down again. “Annyeong.” he greeted her with a nod, hands stuck in his jacket pocket as he stared down at the younger girl.

“Um... hi...” she spoke, voice quiet and somewhat scared. Miyoung stared at a piece of Halls wrapper lying on the floor in between her and the other male. She couldn't muster out another word, pressing her back tighter against her locker, trying to distance herself from Jiyong. She knew what he was, and didn't want to associate herself with him.

Of course, Jiyong being clueless to this at the moment, overlooked it as he looked at the girl in front of her, smiling warmly. “Hey, Miyoung-ah, I wanted to ask...” he chuckled nervously to himself as he paused for a moment, collecting himself since he'd never asked a single girl out anywhere before that moment. Finally, feeling his courage rise, he looked back up again, hand scratching at the back of his neck gently. “Would you like to go to prom with me?” he asked, eyes hopeful as he stared at her, waiting for an answer.

The girl's face hidden behind brown bangs that fell over her eyes as she widened them in shock. It was true that the other male was charming. If only he wasn't the monster that he was. If he wasn't cursed, then maybe, just maybe, she would have said yes. But of course, the facts were there. He was a violent creature. Everyone was scared of him, and there was no possible way she'd ever be seen around something like that. “Uh, I'm sorry but... I'm already going with someone...” the girl mustered out, not daring to lift her eyes to look at the other male before running past Jiyong and down the halls. She was afraid that the male would become angry and hit her. Maybe even kill her. She ran all the way down the long and dark hallway until she reached her friend, who she bumped into, looking up at the other as she smiled widely, relieved.

Jiyong stood there, stationary, as he stared blankly at the locker where Miyoung was standing only moments ago. He felt rejected, betrayed. Why couldn't anyone love him? Couldn't they see that he didn't hurt anyone? He was harmless. And yet, they still couldn't trust him. They all ran from him, like he was some prisoner who broke out from the confinements of his cell. Like he was a maniac. All because he was cursed this way since birth.

A drop of tear rolled down the male's cheek as he slept. The shaking of the moving vehicle causing the tear to roll all the way down to the boy's chin as he napped. Passengers ignoring the boy at the back as they boarded. Families chatted away happily towards the front of the bus as two kids giggled to each other as they told jokes to each other. Loneliness. Something Jiyong had tolerated for much of his years. No family to love him, not many friends who cared. The boy envied all those kids who had loving parents. All those kids who had siblings and friends. Just like he was sitting on the bus by himself now, he was alone. All but that one person he'd known ever since he was born. That family friend he'd loved and cherished. Daesung.

Flashback

The grass in a tiny field behind the mansion crumpled as small feet broke their way through the bright, green grass. Each blade bent over as noisy giggling could be heard interrupting the originally peaceful silence of the home. Two boys ran chasing after each other through the field as the parents of the two sat on dull plastic chairs right in front of the door. The mother and father of one child, and the father of the other.

“Brother! Hyung!” a boy with chubby cheeks smiled widely at the other as he called the child version of Jiyong that was running towards a tree with a wide trunk. Daesung, a childhood friend of Jiyong, was a naive little boy who loved playing with Jiyong. Whenever he wasn't busy, the two families would often get together to chat and play. Because Jiyong was older than Daesung, the chubby boy would look up to Jiyong, especially when he didn't understand something. But of course, with Jiyong being the slightly mischievous child that he was, he would often tease Daesung, sometimes making Daesung sad on one of their hangout days.

The blond boy smiled widely as he flung his arms around the tree trunk, levering his small, ten year old body up the tree before reaching to the nearest branch. Catching on to it, the boy swung from it like monkey, swinging up so he could pull himself on to it, sitting on the small branch before repeating his actions on yet another branch. After a few more minutes, the blond sat on a branch higher up on the tree as he waved down at his friend below him. “Yah! Daesung, get up here too!” he yelled at his friend.

His friend, being weaker than Jiyong, looked up and pouted. He wanted to climb the tree, but he knew he didn't have enough strength to pull himself up the way the elder did. That was one of the reasons why he couldn't. The other was because he was afraid. Coming from a family who pampered him so much, the boy wasn't used to heights. His family never took him anywhere aside from fancy restaurants, people's homes and, of course, his friend's place. But the boy knew that if he didn't do anything, his friend was going to for being a scaredy cat. Daesung didn't like that either. After whining for a minute, Daesung decided, 'why not?' and headed towards the tree. Miniature star shaped hands pressed on the bark of the tree. The rough edges of the trunk pressing against the palms of the boy intimidatingly as if to say, “Come on, you don't have the guts to!” and the boy gulped. He breathed in and out slowly, trying to calm himself before finally pressing a foot onto the bark as well.

As if fate didn't allow him to continue, Jiyong, who had been horsing around on the small branch he sat on, suddenly felt himself slide a bit. With a small little yelp, his hands slid a little just as Daesung looked up, hearing a “Whoa!” coming from the elder. Daesung looked long enough before witnessing his friend's flailing arms as he fell from the branch he was sitting on, back crashing on the ground as he clung to his head like a ball. Horror struck the younger immediately as he left from the tree to run to the other's side.

“Hey! Hey! Jiyong! Hyung, are you okay?” he let out, voice filled with panic as he sunk to his knees, small and frail hands clutching to his friend's arms with worry, shaking him slightly as if it woud magically make his friend reply.

Groaning softly, the boy looked up, his back lying on the ground. His arms were dirtied from the mud when he crashed onto the grass and mud. He sat up and rubbed his arms gingerly just as Daesung's parents ran over, eyes widened with worry as Jiyong's father followed after them.

Although he looked worried as well, the man grabbed the arms of Daesung's parents firmly, holding them back. The two confused parents turned to face Jiyong's father in question. “It's okay, don't worry.” he muttered under his breath. The two frowned in return.

“What do you mean, 'Don't worry? Your son just fell off a tree. There's tons to worry about!” Daesung's father spoke, his voice louder than expected before turning away from the other, not listening. How could a father, who's son just fell off a tree, not be worried at all? He couldn't understand the meaning of this.

As the man headed towards his son who knelt next to his friend, he heard his son yell out in amazement. “Wow! That's so cool!” followed by a low groan from Jiyong's father.

The two parents, concerned about their son as well as his friend, ran over to the two boys to see what all the commotion was about before Jiyong's father could stop them. Glancing over their son's shoulders, the parents' eyes widened in terror at the scene. Jiyong's arm, originally matted with dry blood from the fall, along with a few scratches was disappearing slowly before their eyes. The rough, reddened, and bruised skin was renewing by itself. The wounds closed while dead skin was replaced with new and soft skin on the boy's arm. Jiyong looked up with amazement, proud that he had this ability, yet he had no idea what was coming for him. The parents of his friend did, though.

With a sudden gasp followed by the mother's scream, Daesung was pulled into her arms in the blink of an eye, the two parents glaring at Jiyong defensively as they wrapped their arms around their son. Both the boys looked clueless, confused. Jiyong pursed his lips in a frown, feeling gross. The parents treated him like he was some sort of rabid animal. Like he wasn't even human. They acted like it was their son who got hurt because of him. Why?

Mr. And Mrs. Kang, his best friend's parents who treated him so nicely were now in the living room arguing with his father. The same two people who'd loved and cared for him so much now hated him. They wouldn't even give him any eye contact after they witnessed his skin healing. Jiyong didn't know why. He wanted to ask his father, but his father looked disappointed. Though the young boy didn't understand what was going on, he knew one thing for sure. He knew that after this, there was no way he'd ever be allowed to play with his best friend again. His best friend, seated in between his parents, looked down at his lap as the adults argued. Jiyong hid behind the glass door as he stared sadly. His friend glanced up, frowning at him when they exchanged eye contact. For a slip second, Jiyong understood. Although his parents wouldn't allow it, Daesung was determined to keep their friendship despite his parents' disapproval. That lifted Jiyong's hopes up slightly. At least he knew that his best friend would always be there. However, the blond was still upset and confused. Shouldn't the parents be amazed at his skin being able to heal itself on its own? His father never showed much signs of interest nor horror after witnessing it. But he'd earned a completely different reaction from Daesung's parents.

Turning from the adults arguing, and from his best friend, he ran. Jiyong ran from the ones causing him distress to the only place he knew: the park. He didn't turn back after opening and closing the back door quietly, hoping his father wouldn't go looking for him. He didn't have the heart to face anyone at the moment. He felt horrible. It was like the world was caving in on him. Like the world hated him because he was different. Why did he have to be like this? Maybe it would make people happier if his skin didn't know how to heal itself. Finally reaching the familiar blue slide in the middle of a square of sand that was the playground, the blond sat on the swing. He took a nearby stick with one sharp end. Examining it, he poked it against his lap. Pain struck him immediately as the boy winced, biting on his lip harshly as he tried not to cry. Boys don't cry. Looking down at his skin, he began rubbing the sharp end up and down his leg, earning him a few lines of dry blood caused by the rough end digging and cutting into his skin. Jiyong smiled, pleased at his accomplishment before frowning again. He watched as his skin began healing once again. The tiny dotted red lines in the amidst reddened skin began disappearing, replacing it with white and scarless skin.

“No! No! Stop it! Stop, I didn't tell you to heal! Why are you healing?!” an enraged, yet high pitched screaming came from the young boy as he dug the sharp end of the stick into his leg again, only to watch it heal before his eyes. He bit into his lip roughly, angry tears started to form at his eyes before they rolled down his cheeks. Drops of tears turned to streams as he cried, pulling an arm up to his eyes to wipe at them. He cried like that for what felt like hours, not even noticing as the sky darkened around him. The playground, already empty when he came, was still deserted, since the children living in his neighbourhood usually go somewhere with their parents.

Almost 20 minutes later, a sound was heard from the boy's left. The blond, who'd resided to sniffling softly to himself finally looked up at a familiar figure coming towards him. His uncle. The man with a small bushy moustache smiled at him as he headed towards the young boy. Not responding, Jiyong sat motionless, staring at the elder as he approached. He felt disappointed that it wasn't his father. His father was always the last to call. The last to appear. The last to care.

Sitting on the swing nexr to him, the uncle smiled at the pouting boy. He wrapped an arm around Jiyong's shoulders and pulled the young boy close to him. “Hey, little man. What's wrong to have made ya run all the way here, hm?” the man questioned his nephew as he looked down at the boy. Jiyong's eyes were reddened. His eyelids puffy from crying, he shook his head stubbornly, refusing to answer his uncle. Shrugging, the man chuckled softly, leaning his head over and kissing the side of the boy's head. “You know... it's okay to tell me anything. I won't judge. Telling someone will help you ease off your emotions.” he said calmly, sighing as he leaned his back a bit, one hand holding the chain to keep himself up as he stared at the sky.

“I... Uncle, why am I so different?” the boy pursed his lips in a thin line as he stared down at the ground. He didn't dare look up at the man who had loved him since he appeared in this world. This man was the only family the young boy had left, and he didn't want to lose him either.

The uncle, however, didn't lose his smile to the question. He'd known ever since his brother told him that he'd eventually have to face this kind of question from his nephew. He knew that his brother always felt uncomfortable with the son his wife gave birth to. It was Jiyong's birth that made his mother die, and the uncle understood how his brother felt. It would be upsetting to lose your wife all of a sudden on the day that was supposed to be your happiest day since the wedding. And along with that, with Jiyong's state, there was no reason for Jiyong's father not to blame his son. But he'd also promised his brother's wife this: that he'd protect the young boy, no matter what happened to her. And no matter what the reason, to always stay by Jiyong's side to support him. Jiyong's uncle wanted to honour that wish, so he always kept to Jiyong. He was the one who comforted the child when he got upset, sad or irritated. Now, he was returning yet another favour.

“Boy... when you were born, you were different...” he said softly, turning to glance at the younger for a second to see if he was still listening to him. The boy pursed his lips, already knowing this very well from the commotion earlier in the day. The uncle smiled again, ignoring the discomfort coming from Jiyong. “There is something out there that hurt your mother before you were born. And it hurt her right here.” he spoke again, extending his arm out to pat at the blond's tummy gently. Jiyong's eyes widened in shock.

“You mean right where I was...?” he whispered, voice barely audible as he looked up at the taller man, hands fidgeting on his lap as he played with his fingers.

The uncle nodded, grimacing a little before continuing with the story. “Yes. He hurt her right there before your dad killed it using a knife he happened to have around for cutting food. Normally, the creature had to cut itself and cut you, and then press the blood together to infect you. But since it wasn't cut, only the molecules from the beast moved into your mother. I guess the molecules somehow got into your fetus as well, so it caused you to become something inhuman as well...” the man spoke, turning to Jiyong as he told the young boy what his own father kept from him those ten years.

Jiyong frowned, looking back down before staring at the soccer field that stood next to the playground. He didn't know what to say of the story he was just told. The reason why he was so different. The reason why people hated him. And why did he only hear this now, after that scene with Daesung's parents? Why didn't his father tell him anything? So many questions were left unanswered, and the young boy began hating on his father. He had all the right to know. It was himself that people hated, he deserved to know this! And yet, he was left in the dark all this time. The boy's eyes narrowed into slits as he glared at the metal pole that was the soccer net frame. “So... I'm a monster.” he spoke lowly, his voice sounding much more mature than he'd originally intended, but he didn't care. “That's why they hate me.” he reasoned, voice in the same tone.

Frowning, the uncle turned to Jiyong and placed his hand at the boy's head, ruffling his hair a bit as he shook his head. “No, you aren't, Jiyong. You're born with monster genes, that is true, but you're far from being one. No one should judge you but yourself, now remember that.” he spoke encouragingly at the younger male, smiling.

As much as what the older said was true, Jiyong couldn't hold his anger from his friend's parents. Those two people he'd loved so much, known for such a long time. The people he'd thought were family had suddenly turned their back on him. That made the boy angry. He did nothing but speak politely to them every time they met. He was always the nice boy that made his parents proud, but not even his father showed that he was at all impressed with his son's attitude. Something was terribly wrong with that. The blond nodded at his uncle as the two decided to head on home together. But because of that day and the events that took place, something changed inside of the blond boy. He no longer cared about how people thought of him. He'll be nice to others, but if they decided to show how scared they were, or judge him before actually knowing them, he'll make them regret it. If they thought he was a monster, fine. He'll satisfy their wishes. He'll be that monster they convinced themselves and him that he was.

Flashback ends

The male bolted upright in his seat when he felt a sudden tap on his shoulder. Looking around he noticed that no one other than him were seated in the bus. A man in his late forties stood in front of him, face serious as he stared at the younger male sitting next to a giant backpack. “Mr., it's time I go home. I can't with you sleeping here.” the driver spoke, his voice dull and lazy as he stuck both hands in his coat pocket, eyes staring at the blond.

Normally, Jiyong would talk back when drivers spoke so rude and informally to him, since they were complete strangers, but this time he didn't. It was his own fault for falling asleep on the bus, so he stood up quickly, bowing apologetically at the older male before grabbing his backpack, slinging it over one shoulder before quickly stepping out. Thankfully, the mall happened to be the main stop for this bus, so the boy didn't have to take any bus in the reversed direction.

Pulling out his phone, the blond quickly texted his friend, slowing down his pace as he did. “Yo, Daesung-ah, I'm at the mall. Can you come?” he wrote, pressing the enter key quickly. Thankfully, and unlike his own parents, Daesung's allowed him to leave home, find a job and buy himself a house since he was now an adult. Jiyong's father didn't trust him enough to let him live alone. With Daesung's parents out of the picture, the blond didn't have to worry about them finding out that they still stayed connected even after that incident nine years ago.

The blond stepped in through the mall doors, heading over to Starbucks which happened to be just around the corner, sitting down at one of the tables as he waited for his friend to text back. Sitting there, the boy looked out at the people passing by, thinking back on the happy moments he'd spent with Daesung, recalling how they first met at school before forcing their parents to talk to each other more. A buzz came from Jiyong's coat pocket, pulling the male out of his thoughts as he pulled the phone out from his pocket, smiling at the text he'd received. “Sure~ Starbucks as usual then.”, Daesung texted back. Jiyong needed this time. He wanted to be alone with his childhood friend, and no one else. Only Daesung knew about his father and his problems, and Jiyong just didn't feel comfortable enough telling any of his school friends. He wasn't worried about running away since he'd slept over with Daesung countless times. The blond sighed, looking around before resting his chin on his arms at the table.

“Hyung!” A voice pulled Jiyong out of his sleep. Opening his eyes, the male looked up after mistakenly falling asleep. Daesung stood in front of him, grinning widely at him causing Jiyong to chuckle. Whatever happened in his life, he could always count on his friend to cheer him up.

“Yo.” he spoke lazily, yawning a bit as he stretched his arms out above his head, pulling out a seat for his friend.

A/N: That was the first time I've written fanfic in ages, and I got too excited so I decided to post this before getting it reviewed by my friend. . . ewe The longest I've written in ages, but I do hope you all like it OAO Love you all~