ix.  Friend - Part One

Jongdae was probably a genius. But very little people noticed this fact, let alone cared for it. So while he was blessed, he was undoubtedly cursed.

As a general rule, when a child’s talent had been discovered, parents would be ecstatic and proud before doing all they could to nurture this talent. It was too bad Jongdae’s parents couldn’t have cared less for his genius.

Young genius was troublesome, Jongdae soon found out. No one liked you, not the neighbour’s son, not the children at the daycare, not even the seemingly lonely children that wandered around the nearby park at night.

Who cares anyway?

Surely not Jongdae. People were fickle and silly and simply not worth his time. It’s not as if anyone understood him anyhow.

“Jongdae?”

His thoughts backtracked for a moment, a rare occurrence for his always racing mind. Perhaps there was someone. Jongdae hummed in response to his elder sister’s call, picking himself off of the couch.

“Picnic is ready.”

Soon he was in a field of flowers dressed up in his nicest clothes, sitting cross-legged on a tiny red and white plaid blanket laid out on the dark lush grass of his backyard. Above him was a huge tree that hung over them and swayed slightly in the soft summer breeze.

It was a picnic for just him and his sister. She sat across from him, sitting on her knees and in her nicest dress, a floral one that matched the field they were in. It was her favourite, and she only wore it for the fanciest occasions, which happened to include makeshift picnics in the backyard. On top of her head was a messily made flower crown made out of dandelions.

His sister may have cared for him, but it didn’t mean she understood him. His sister was petty, closeminded, and selfish. Jongdae could see it all, how sore of a loser she was, how she never allowed him to speak on the phone with their parents the rare times they called, and how the blame was always pinned on him. Young Jongdae could overlook that in favour of her few redeeming traits, but he knew exactly how silly and evil people could get.

Jongdae watched curiously as she slowly made another crown, weaving the stems in and out careful not to make any mistakes. She had always been a perfectionist.

“See Dae? Isn’t this a lot more fun than pulling pranks?” She asked in her normally chipper voice. “We should do this more often.”

Jongdae looked back at her and opened his mouth to say something, but thought better of it knowing his sister wouldn’t understand anything. People had to be taken down a peg, and who better than him? He knew all of their crimes, how much everyone deserved to suffer. Silly adults who thought they held sway over the world, silly teenagers trapped in their fantasies, silly children who knew nothing but thought they knew more than everyone else.

Suddenly his sister sat up swiftly from her seat, not before brushing off her dress and waltzing lightly over to Jongdae. Gently, she placed the flower crown on his head and smiled sweetly at him.

“Jongdae, you look so cute!” She squealed in a purposely high-pitched voice, squeezing his pink cheeks together in her hands, “I have the best baby brother in the world. Wait a second!”

He watched silently, fuming as she scrambled up from her seat and back over to her seat to look through the straw woven basket she had brought with her. After a couple of moments, she came back with her prized possession, a pink film camera she had gotten for Christmas a couple years back.

How dare she degrade him in such a manner?

“Let’s take a picture together.” She said sweetly, bringing Jongdae close to her side. Swallowing his annoyance, he allowed a crooked grin to adorn his face.  

The sun was beaming down on his face and a subtle breeze was gently rustling his hair, everything was picturesque. It was too bad everything was going to come to an end soon. Stupid, silly people who thought their voices were quiet enough, their meeting place secret enough.

The photo quickly processed, and his sister pulled it quickly out of the camera, eager to reaffirm how pretty she looked in her dress and dandelion crown.

“Come on, Dae. You can take a look at how cute you look.” She told him before realizing Jongdae had disappeared. She quickly swept her eyes around the yard, not seeing hide nor hair of her little brother.

That’s when disaster struck. The backyard door was kicked down before a gang of about four or five marched through the open space. Jongdae was watching safely from the boughs of the sturdy tree that he was only a few moments ago picnicking under. He knew exactly what they wanted and it didn’t concern him. Selfish, lazy people who wanted the easy way out of life. Taking what didn’t belong to them. Silly. So silly.

Then his sister did something unbelievably stupid. She screamed, loud and ringing off the tightly packed townhouses where they lived. Jongdae looked incredulously at the events unfolding under him.  

Jongdae knew it was out of panic, but it didn’t change the fact that a spiked baseball bat had been embedded into his sister’s chest puncturing what he knew were important arteries and lungs. He didn’t know who was more idiotic at this point. He sighed wistfully, his sister had lost the way to redeem herself. If she had survived, he would’ve considered sharing his knowledge with her. What a pity. People were all the same. Silly, selfish, stupid.

The robbers had fled in panic but Jongdae didn’t care. He knew exactly who they were, they wouldn’t be able to escape from him. Such lowly people wanting to steal from him? If it wasn’t for the fact he had wanted to test his sister, they would never had made it this far.

     Sliding down from the tree, he entered the house without a glance at the mangled body. After reporting the incident to the police he rejoins his sister on the now bloody blanket, munching on a sandwich before checking on her.

    She was most definitely dying; it would take a miracle to save her now. Jongdae could tell, her eyes were becoming more and more glassy every time she blinked. However, when Jongdae came into view, her eyes focused for the final time to ask a question before being completely drained of life.

    Why didn’t you save me?

     Jongdae chuckled before her sister’s hair with a hand lightly dusted by sandwich crumbs knowing that it would’ve driven her perfectionist nature insane.

     So selfish to the very end. Jongdae felt reaffirmed of the fact there was little loss in his sister, she would never look out for him but would always be looking for ways to drag him down with her.

     That was how the police found the little boy, lightly the hair of the corpse while humming quietly.

    “Your son appears to be in shock.” The policeman’s words were solid, not holding an ounce of doubt, “You should take him to his doctor and assess the severity.”

    The couple blinked owlishly at the officer, tears still fresh in their eyes for the loss of their daughter.

    “How do you know?” The father asked, worried for the wellbeing of his now only child.

    “Jongdae has not shed a single tear, nor shown any knowledge that his sister is deceased. When asked, he simply smiled and said that she’s completely fine.” The policeman shuddered slightly, remembering the almost eerie expression on the young boy’s face. “If they are as close as you claim them to be, this is a sign of shock.”

    “They have lived together for their entire lives, she’s always taken care of Jongdae in our place,” the father choked back a sob before speaking again, “Will you be able to catch the culprits?”

    “Please rest assured, we have sufficient information to find them immediately. Your son has a remarkable memory.”

Jongdae acted like all of the other children in his grade four class. He got bored easily in class and he liked to fool around on the playground. He didn’t have a lot of friends and he wasn’t doing that well in school, and sometimes, or perhaps most times he could be mischievous, but he was like all the other children.

But he simply wasn’t. He wasn’t like other children, and he knew it very well. He had no reason to exceed even though he knew he could. The simple thoughts of his peers, teachers, and parents bored him, inciting the desire to do something to change that.

For a while he had no choice but to act normal, forcing himself to become a stupid, silly, simple child. It disgusted him, he was so much more. But even though he hated it, he knew if he didn’t, his parents wouldn’t hesitate to take him to a therapist. Jongdae did not an adult to attempt to read and decipher his intricate and complex thoughts.

However, to his horror, his parents had already decided that they were going to take him to the doctor. He didn’t understand what he did wrong. He acted like all the other children in front of his parents and teachers and made sure his pranks’ tracks were covered up impeccably.

He had overheard them a couple of nights before. They had been whispering about him when they thought he wasn’t listening. Jongdae was always listening. His parents were concerned and thought he was acting strange.

    Jongdae didn’t see where his pristine mask had been marred, his behaviour was perfectly natural becoming of a normal ten-year-old boy. Then a thought struck his mind, causing Jongdae to think himself an idiot for the first time in his entire life. He had forgotten his experiences were not of a normal boy’s, his parents probably thought that he still didn’t understand his sister was dead. He had overlooked this fact, thinking it was another one of those little fickle people things. Jongdae wanted to tear out his hair and beat the ground with his fists in anger and frustration.

     He would never slip up like this ever again.

    Jongdae recognized his loss and obediently agreed to go to the child therapist without a word.

    Jongdae sat quietly in the corner of the doctor’s office by himself on one of the colourfully decorated chairs that lined the room. The walls were covered in cartoonish posters promoting good health and randomly placed stickers of different kinds. It helped give life to the dead looking room.

    His parent’s had gone in to speak with the doctor, Mr. Byun, and were taking forever. Normally he would’ve been listening in on the conversation to gain an upper hand on the doctor, but he was sulking and in deep thought. Being a genius, Jongdae refused to forgive himself of his mistake that resulted in this situation and continued to berate himself.

    As he sat in his uncomfortable plastic chair he was purposely swinging his legs back and forth causing the hard plastic to creak and squeal loudly bringing him satisfaction. The annoyed and uncomfortable expressions on surrounding people’s faces relieved Jongdae’s frustration a little.    

He let his eyes scan the other children, knowing exactly what he was going to find. That little girl told lies to her parents who thought she was an angel. That boy thought his parents cared about him when in reality they were only helping him for their own benefit. That child was adopted and didn’t even know yet and his parents want to hide the fact from him forever. That girl wants to be perfect for her parents and has already hurt many others to achieve it.

       Jongdae sighed before continuing on, children were never truly innocent. That boy was being made fun of by the others behind his back. Staying longer in the room surrounded by these lowly people made him feel sick and disgusted. He dug in his mind for the right word, peasants. They were all peasants in his eyes, and who better to pass judgement than himself?

  Most of the other children were sitting in different places all around the room. Some were in small groups talking to each other and playing around with the toys that were in a bucket in the corner of the room. A few were like him, sitting quietly by themselves or with their parents.

     Suddenly his eyes were drawn to a barely moving lump across the room. Jongdae never missed anything so the lack of presence of this particular child was intriguing. He continued to study the little boy curiously, taking in as much information as he could. He judged the boy to be either seven or eight and an obvious introvert. Jongdae wouldn’t be surprised if he had a speaking impediment or anxiety. However, what really struck him was how untainted the boy was, huddled together and trying to disappear into his baggy blue sweater.

     As if sensing another’s eyes on him, the petite boy raised his chin the tiniest fraction, allowing Jongdae to see into his eyes.

     Jongdae could read eyes like the mind. It was a skill that he was blessed with and something he improved and used often. He knew exactly who you were by simply glancing at your eyes regardless if you were looking at him or not.

     So it was exactly why his heart stuttered when he gazed into no doubt the most beautiful eyes he had ever seen. Clear, honest, and completely pure of the uncleanliness and foolery of the world. They sparkled under the fluorescent lights, giving away exactly what the little boy was feeling; nervousness and a hint of curiosity. 

     For a second, their eyes met, but the boy quickly turned away, clearly flustered and shy.

    “Jongdae.”

    He looked up to see Mr. Byun with his parents calling him over. With a sigh, he made his way over, resisting the urge to send them a scalding glare for interrupting such an important moment.

    The doctor kneeled down next to him and gave him a disgustingly knowing smile. “Hi Jongdae. Your parents told me a lot about you, how are you feeling?”

   Jongdae felt a shudder run down his spine as he watched the doctor run his eyes up and down his figure, “I’m fine, sir.”

   Mr. Byun nodded slowly before patting him on the shoulder. “Hmm. Alright then. You know that if there’s anything wrong, you can come talk to me, all right? I’ll speak with you a little later though, I have to deal with something first.”

   Mr. Byun walked off and Jongdae’s parents went back to their seats.

   His mother pointed over to the other children. “Dae, why don’t you go make some new friends? We have to wait a little while more, so there’s no point just sitting around.”

   While making friends wasn’t exactly Jongdae’s favourite hobby, as he found dealing with stupid children his age tiresome and annoying. He had made a couple friends in school, however he was sure that his friends didn’t like him all too much, sensing that Jongdae felt the same. But the little boy who was still snuggled in the corner of the room piqued his interest like nothing had ever before, so he wasn’t against his mother’s wishes.

    Jongdae left without saying a word.

   He could feel his mother’s satisfied smile on his back, pleased by his response. He scoffed under his breath, as if she, a peasant, could tell him to do. But he ignored those feelings as he made his way over to the other corner, the boy in the baggy blue sweater was still sitting by himself, gazing wistfully over at the other playing children.

   Jongdae slowly made his way beside him, and sat down in the chair next to him. Feeling unsure for the first time in his life, he wonders what he should say to the tense little ball beside him.

   “Hey,” Jongdae gently tapped him in the shoulder.

   The boy was so startled he flinched immediately at contact, almost falling off of his chair. Jongdae jumped a little himself, not expecting such a reaction. The boy looked over at him, eyes wide and Jongdae felt a little shiver of happiness looking into such clear eyes. But the eyes were filled with an expression of pure terror.

  “Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you.” Jongdae said soothingly, thinking of something to say. “I like your sweater. It looks comfy.”  

   The boy took a long pause, as if gathering all his courage before finally replying.

   “It’s fine. I’m always like this.” He mumbled, almost silently as he looked towards the ground. “And t-thanks.”

   “You know, it shouldn’t be that hard to go join those kids over there,” Jongdae nodded towards a little group of children that he deemed somewhat decent.

   “I … can’t.” He stuttered out, curling up like did before and speaking even quieter. “I’m scared.”

   Jongdae grinned inwardly, satisfied with the response. While he was unfamiliar to the feeling of fear, he felt as if he and the little boy had something in common. They both viewed other people as unequal to themselves, even though their sights were completely different. It was a good thing the boy was so scared of others, that way he wouldn’t be tainted by their stupidity and silliness.

   “Where are you parents?” Jongdae questioned, wanting to know if the parents were worthy of such a child.

   The boy took let out a soft sigh. “I’m here every week, so … they just dropped me off.

“Well … what’s your name?” He asked smiling cheerily as he tried to hide his disgust at the thought of such irresponsible parents. If such a special boy was his child, he would no doubt ensure he was happy. “I’m Jongdae. People call me Dae, though. I’m ten years old.”

    “I’m Kyungsoo.” He smiled softly, tentatively. “I-It’s ... nice to meet you.”

     They talked together for what felt like hours, while it was mostly just Jongdae telling long stories and Kyungsoo attentively listening to him, Jongdae couldn’t think of a time he had been happier. Besides pulling pranks of course. Kyungsoo was a good listener, something Jongdae found nearly impossible in any other person. It takes no small amount of selflessness to truly be a good listener. He found himself more and more drawn to the beautiful quiet boy that gradually became less and less timid around him.

     When the time came for Jongdae to leave, he could see a little bit of sadness in Kyungsoo’s expressive eyes. Out of instinct, he leaned over and lightly ruffled the smaller boy’s soft dark hair.

    “Don’t be sad. I’ll come back, after all, you are my friend.” Jongdae sent a wide reassuring grin to the other.

     The purity of the genuine happiness exuding from Kyungsoo took his breath away. “Promise?”

     “I promise.”

     The bright smile that lit up Kyungsoo’s little face brought Jongdae a unique sense of accomplishment and happiness.

     Maybe therapy wouldn’t be so bad after all.

   A pair of hands overlapped his. He was quick to realize who’s they were, besides his parents, no one would be willing touch the strange boy that smiled too much and too often. They were definitely not his sister’s, they were too soft and too small. It could only be Kyungsoo, the only person that wanted to and Jongdae allowed to touch him.

   Kyungsoo was staring back at him, big sparkling eyes filled with concern. “Are you okay?”

   Jongdae shook his head quickly, clearing his mind of thoughts in order to focus all his attention on the little boy beside him. “Of course I am, how could I not with you here?”

   “Really?” Kyungsoo beamed happily, never have received such kind words before. “If you are, want to go play on the field with me?”

   “Why not?” Jongdae grinned, standing up and offering a hand to Kyungsoo who still seemed surprised that he had agreed so easily.

   When Kyungsoo’s small hand was enveloped by Jongdae’s significantly bigger one, both children felt a sense of comfort and happiness. The younger finally felt acceptance and protection, while the other felt a feeling of responsibility and trust.

   The boys spent a few moments running outside before laying down on the sweet smelling grass. As they gazed into the endlessly blue sky, they amused themselves by spotting different shapes in the clouds. Suddenly a gust of cold wind blew across the field causing Kyungsoo to shiver slightly.

   “Are you cold?” Jongdae asked immediately, noticing the slight movement. “Want to go back?”

   Kyungsoo shook his head, before shyly looking into Jongdae’s eyes. “No, I don’t want to go back. I want to stay with Dae-hyung a little longer.”

   The honest and sincere look in his eyes made Jongdae’s heart thud a little louder. “Well if that’s the case, come a little closer. I’ll keep you warm.”

   There was a soft noise of assent before Kyungsoo snuggled himself next to Jongdae who wrapped an arm around his small body. His soft dark hair tickled Jongdae’s neck slightly while his small hands found themselves clutching the other’s soft shirt tightly.

   “Dae-hyung?” Kyungsoo’s voice breathed out softly, unsurely.

   Jongdae hummed in response and Kyungsoo giggled adorably at the feeling of the little vibrations that resonated from his chest.

   “I’m scared of when Dae-hyung has to leave,” a little wobble entered his voice. “I don’t want Dae-hyung to ever leave me.”

   Kyungsoo’s voice tugged at Jongdae’s heart. He knew that it wasn’t possible that they be together forever, Jongdae was smarter than that. He didn’t really know what to say, so he only held Kyungsoo tighter before pressing a kiss onto his forehead.

   “Don’t be sad.” Jongdae’s voice was purposely cheerful. “Dae-hyung won’t be leaving anytime soon. I have to make sure you’re brave enough to stand on your own before that happens.

    Then Jongdae did something he hadn’t done in a very long time, he began to sing. His soft notes were melodious and sweet for the purpose of soothing his little charge. It worked almost too well as Kyungsoo’s breaths became deeper and more even, signifying he was asleep. While he did want to stay vigilant in order to protect the little boy by his side, the rhythmic breathing and comforting body heat from Kyungsoo slowly lulled Jongdae to sleep.

    The three weeks Jongdae spent together with Kyungsoo were by far were the best three weeks of his life. Not only did he have someone who truly enjoyed his company, but someone who appreciated and loved him with a pure heart. Of course he returned the same feelings to the younger boy, who although gained more confidence, was still a stuttering mess around strangers.

    Jongdae was genuinely worried about Kyungsoo.

    He learnt how Kyungsoo had never been to a real school before, and that his parents were bad at paying attention and never listened to him. He knew that eventually that the boy would have no choice but to be faced with school and the likes. Jongdae swore that he would make sure that Kyungsoo would be fully equipped when the time comes for them to separate.

    Kyungsoo liked to draw, but was too shy to show anyone his work, especially Jongdae. He also soon grew to love writing, something that strongly encouraged by Jongdae. It sprouted up one afternoon.

    “Dae-hyung?” Kyungsoo’s voice was still soft, but held stronger notes in comparison to before.

    “Yes?” Jongdae nodded, turning to face the other who had a frustrated expression on his round, adorable face.

    Kyungsoo fiddled a little with his crayon before speaking. “Sometimes I want to tell Dae-hyung things that happened during the day, but I always forget.”

    Jongdae laughed, touched by the sentiment before suggesting, “You could write a journal you know. I’ll get you a notebook and whenever you think of something you want to tell me, just write it in there. When we meet again, you can read from your journal and tell me everything that happened.”

    “Really?” Kyungsoo’s eyes sparkled with delight and excitement.

    Jongdae’s lips quirked up into a grin. “Really.”

    For a boy who was so quiet, Kyungsoo was surprisingly hilarious. He was always making little clever comments and constantly he made cute expressions, like whenever Jongdae detached himself from the little boy, Kyungsoo would squirm and pout sadly. He also sometimes brought Jongdae snacks he said his grandma made him, like leftover cookies. Kyungsoo was like the best friend Jongdae knew he always needed.

Jongdae didn’t want to think about his therapy sessions. The doctor was lucky Kyungsoo was one of his patients or he would’ve been dealt with in a matter of days. Jongdae was no fool. He knew exactly what kind of man the ‘respected’ Dr. Byun was, and was absolutely disgusted by him. Jongdae knew for a fact that therapists needn’t feel their patients’ bodies to decipher their thoughts, much less child patients. It was too bad the kids were too much of fools to realize that therapists weren’t like their family doctor. It was a good thing Kyungsoo was so shy and withdrawn, Dr. Byun didn’t dare do anything fishy to the already cautious and borderline paranoid boy. Jongdae himself also made sure the doctor was put off by his attitude, ensuring his own safety.

But anything bad could easily be overshadowed by the immense happiness brought by Kyungsoo.

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a/n:

Sorry this took so long *bows repeatedly* (Surprise!) The co-author/over-enthusiastic beta has made her debut.

Thanks to AnUnusualTwist for entrusting such an important duty to me.

And also thank you for reading!