In his hurry to get away from the hellhole he’s been living in for too long already, Baekhyun hastily grabs his winter coat and gets out of his house, forgetting his boots behind.

During all these years, these 20 years of his monotonous and depressing life, he kept it all in. Whether it be the harsh criticism his parents lashed out at him for being a failure or the deception that was crystal clear in their eyes, Baekhyun kept it all in, thus becoming a dangerous time bomb. Never once did he go against his parents because he was taught to respect them even if they were unfair, even if they wronged him.

"We are your parents. You must respect us, but we don’t have to respect you."

"You’re such a disappointment. How dare you even show your face in front of us?"

They told him again and again, repeated the foul words as if they didn’t have anything else to tell him. Baekhyun tries to remember when was the last time he heard his parents tell him that they were proud of him or that they loved him, but he can’t.

There is nothing to remember.

He chuckles sadly and releases a puff of despair in the cold night. His feet are frozen from walking barefoot in the snow, but he doesn’t mind. The numbness is a million times less painful than the words that were thrown at him tonight. Even though Baekhyun’s ears are used to hearing such hurtful words, his heart isn’t and never will be. In fact, his heart might still be faintly beating but it’s cut open and slowly bleeding to death.

Baekhyun stops in his tracks and raises his head to take a look at the dark sky. Upon the thousands of shiny stars, he wishes for his parents to forget about him and live happily for once. Then, he closes his eyes and wishes upon tonight’s beautiful moon too. He silently wishes for a spark of light to brighten up his stained black path, wishes for a way to escape his gloomy world, like the moon manages to stand out from the night that’s trying to eat her up in the darkness. He doesn’t want to hurt anymore.

As if someone heard his prayers, Baekhyun looks in front of him and sees two blinding lights illuminating the road.

Everything happens quickly. One moment, he’s floating in the air with his eyes closed and the other, he’s landing on the ground with a loud thud that’s immediately followed by the nasty cracking sounds of his ribs.

Baekhyun knows it’s time to let go. The only thing he feels when he’s about to close his eyes one last time isn’t the pain he’s been enduring all this time, but the single tear leaving the corner of his right eye.