Destined Souls
Hongbin
~~~~~~Hongbin lie underneath the beds covers, his body so still one could have possibly mistaken him for a corpse. He supposed that he had been around some sort of virus, who or what it came from could have been anything under the sun. It had most likely just been a bad fever for everyone else, however it hit Hongbin like a semi-truck.
“I’m sorry that I took so long my sweetheart. I’m here now, alright, and I have the right medicine with me. Let’s get you better.” Hongbin felt bad for his grandmother, having to see him in this state. She now acted as if it was nothing, however Hongbin knew that it was difficult. It was difficult for him too.
Hongbin did not have the strength to sit up, nor to lift a finger for that matter. He had no option but to lie there as his grandmother spoon fed him medicine dissolved into soup like some three year old.
“This is all you need to take today. Until you get better, the doctor said you can’t process all those different things. You only need to finish this bowl, sweetheart. Just endure it for a little longer.”
Finishing it was a task Hongbin could do, holding it down was another story. A single spoonful already had bile rising up his throat, however Hongbin had to force it down.
Hongbin’s throat made gagging noises as it forced the liquids to stay in his body. He didn’t want to, it felt as if he was going to choke to death.
“I’m so sorry. I tried to make the bowl small but any less and it would have been the wrong dosage. Please, just a little further.”
Hongbin wanted to speak to her. Tell that it was alright, however he knew talking was out of the question. Hongbin’s primary concern was not choking to death on this single bowl of soup.
An hour and a half later, Hongbin had finally completed it. His lungs let out heavy breaths, his chest feeling as if it’s going to collapse on him. It had been rough to say the least, however Hongbin no longer wanted to relive the nasty details.
“It’s over now. The medicine will make you feel better. You’re going to get better, so just rest. I’ll be back in to check on you in a bit.” With that, his grandmother left the room. Hongbin wished he could scream after her. He wanted her to come back. He knew it was selfish to force her to look at this any longer, however he didn’t want to endure it alone.
He was grateful when the darkness came over him. The lingering pain the sickness had brought him was always present, however he could handle it in within his dreams.
Hongbin figured the illness must be making his mind foggy, as his dreams currently were more like nightmares. Memories relived in a 3rd perspective.
Hongbin felt truly useless watching the sight. It was the sight his grandmother currently had to look at. Hongbin lie tucked firmly underneath the covers, sweat dripping off his body and his forehead radiating heat in waves. His eyelid’s fluttered as moans escaped past his lips, his body occasionally thrashing as Hongbin chocked on whatever disgusting thing was next.
Hongbin awoke abruptly, leaning over his bed frame and painfully emptying his stomach. ~~~~~
Speaking with Sanghyuk that day, Hongbin felt as if it had opened his eyes. He felt as if he had been introduced to an entirely different life style after learning more about Sanghyuk.
Throughout the day all Sanghyuk had wanted to do was play. Once they ran out of interesting carnival games he was more than eager to make up his own, and Hongbin found he nearly had to scold the boy to get him to stop for a moment. Still Hongbin found the matter really cute, however something odd struck him about it. Sanghyuk loved games, but he never wanted to play alone.
Usual teenagers would rather lock themselves in their room than do anything with others, however Sanghyuk craved companionship. He may by immature, however in many ways Sanghyuk was still a teenager. It was unnatural for him to be so attached to people the way he was, however if Hongbin tried to simply go get food for the two on his own, Sanghyuk would beg and plead that the younger go with him.
Past that, the only thing Sanghyuk may have loved as much as the games was food. It was astonishing how much that boy could eat, and he never seemed to run out of room. Hongbin was lucky he was getting paid, as Sanghyuk had ate away all the cash in his wallet. He ate like a starving boy who had skipped three or four meals earlier.
Overall, Sanghyuk was very cute. Being with him hadn’t felt like babysitting at all, but rather like Hongbin was spending time with a little brother. His traits were that of a teenager, he just handled them in a much younger manner. Sanghyuk himself was wonderful, however Hongbin sensed that something may be wrong with his home life. His first signal: Sanghyuk couldn’t fathom why Hongbin had willing talked to his grandmother so often.
“Hongbin hyung, why are you taking your phone out again?” Sanghyuk managed to squeeze words in between the times he shoveled pizza into his mouth, making the syllables more blurred than they already had been. Still, Hongbin somehow understood the boy.
“I’m calling my grandma.”
“But…..why?”
“So that I can check up on her. It makes her feel better to know that I’m still safe, and this way I know that she’s okay too.”
“But, don’t you worry that she’ll get mad at you?”
“No, why would she do that? Would someone get mad at you if you called them?”
“Maybe. My mommy gets mad for me calling sometimes. She says I’m bugging her. That’s why I don’t call unless I know she’s nice, and I don’t call her mommy in front of her. That makes her mad too.”
Hongbin had needed to take a moment, not understanding why a woman would do such a thing. The fact that Sanghyuk wanted to call his mother mommy was no surprise, and in fact Hongbin had expected no less. Knowing that her son would like that, why would anyone get angry at him for simply doing what he thought was nice? And telling her son that his calls were a bother. It was no wonder Sanghyuk hadn’t mentioned her all day.
“Does you mom get mad at you often?”
“Only sometimes. She gets really mad when I first talk to her, so I go to my room. Sometimes I just stay there all night and try to play by myself, but others she gets nice and she comes in to play with me.”
“Is there anyone else in the house, or is it just you and your mother?”
“Well…hyung is there. I don’t talk to hyung though, he’s really mean.”
“Mean?”
“Hyung doesn’t like me. He gets even madder than mommy does. Hyung is scary when he’s mad, so I avoid him.”
“Hyukkie, has your hyung ever….hurt you when he’s angry?” Hearing Sanghyuk’s description had made Hongbin fear the worst. The words themselves didn’t imply this type of situation, but if things were that way this would be a very serious matter. Given how Sanghyuk acted the rest of the day, he wouldn’t handle a serious thing like this the same.
Hongbin had truly been scared, however his mind was not eased when Sanghyuk immediately avoided the topic. He had just finished his last slice of pizza, therefore instead of answering Sanghyuk immediately stood again.
“Call your grandma fast Hongbin hyung! I want to go play some more!” Hongbin didn’t push the matter any further. He figured there was a reason Sanghyuk hadn’t answered.
“How about I message her instead? That will be faster. What do you want to play?” Sanghyuk spoke as Hongbin typed and sent the message, however the older still listened to every word that he had said.
“Hmmm…let’s go back to the games we played first. Those were the best.” Nodding his head, Hongbin immediately followed behind. Whilst walking, Hongbin couldn’t help but to review the events thus far in his head once again.
Sanghyuk was wonderful, and Hongbin had been surprised to see that he actually was more aware than he seemed. Throughout the day, Hongbin had had a few slip-ups.
There was nothing to a concerning degree, or anything that needed to be looked at any deeper. Simply a few tiny ticks here and there. There had been one point in the day where Hongbin started counting. He hadn’t realized it, but quietly Hongbin repeated the same number phrase over and over and over again. Sanghyuk had noticed and had told Hongbin.
If Hongbin was checking the plates a little too intently or if he wanted things arranged much too well, Sanghyuk was sure Hongbin stopped. If someone around him was coughing or seemed to be sick, the younger walked on that side and made sure they were quickly the other direction. It felt good to see someone other than his grandmother care for him so much.
Knowing all this new information, Hongbin was able to enjoy himself a lot that day. He had had a lot more fun than he had in a long time, and he couldn’t deny that he was going to be sad when it was time for Sanghyuk to leave. Wanting to be aware of when that was going to happen, Hongbin brought the topic up in-between gaming sessions.
“Sanghyuk-ah, right now it’s about 5 o’clock. How much longer do you think we have?”
“Have?”
“Until your mom comes to pick you up.”
“Oh, mommy said just before the festival ends.”
“Really?” Hongbin couldn’t help but be shocked. This was not an event made exclusively for children, therefore it wouldn’t end for the night till very late. Around 11 or 11:30 at night. Hongbin would never have allowed Sanghyuk to stay out that late. “Are you sure?”
“That’s what she said.”
“Well then we have a lot of time!” Hongbin made the topic sound like a very happy thing, and he was happy on one hand. He would get more time with Sanghyuk before they had to part and he was very glad about that, but on the other this supported his theory that Sanghyuk’s mother wasn’t providing a very healthy home environment.
“Yay!” Sanghyuk seemed happy as well, cheering and jumping around about the matter.
“Good. People are going to be performing on the other side of the festival around 6. What do you say we eat dinner, and then go over and watch a few of them?”
“What are they gonna do?”
“Different things. It’s gonna be like…..like a talent show sort of. A talent show that’s just a little bit more professional.”
“Yeah!” Sanghyuk seemed very excited about the idea. Hongbin guessed he hadn’t seen many before. “That sounds like fun!”
“Let’s go then. I have an idea for dinner that I think you’re going to like.” Hongbin smiled, Sanghyuk clearly extremely happy. The two walked away grinning and cheerful.
“I’m sorry that I took so long my sweetheart. I’m here now, alright, and I have the right medicine with me. Let’s get you better.” Hongbin felt bad for his grandmother, having to see him in this state. She now acted as if it was nothing, however Hongbin knew that it was difficult. It was difficult for him too.
Hongbin did not have the strength to sit up, nor to lift a finger for that matter. He had no option but to lie there as his grandmother spoon fed him medicine dissolved into soup like some three year old.
“This is all you need to take today. Until you get better, the doctor said you can’t process all those different things. You only need to finish this bowl, sweetheart. Just endure it for a little longer.”
Finishing it was a task Hongbin could do, holding it down was another story. A single spoonful already had bile rising up his throat, however Hongbin had to force it down.
Hongbin’s throat made gagging noises as it forced the liquids to stay in his body. He didn’t want to, it felt as if he was going to choke to death.
“I’m so sorry. I tried to make the bowl small but any less and it would have been the wrong dosage. Please, just a little further.”
Hongbin wanted to speak to her. Tell that it was alright, however he knew talking was out of the question. Hongbin’s primary concern was not choking to death on this single bowl of soup.
An hour and a half later, Hongbin had finally completed it. His lungs let out heavy breaths, his chest feeling as if it’s going to collapse on him. It had been rough to say the least, however Hongbin no longer wanted to relive the nasty details.
“It’s over now. The medicine will make you feel better. You’re going to get better, so just rest. I’ll be back in to check on you in a bit.” With that, his grandmother left the room. Hongbin wished he could scream after her. He wanted her to come back. He knew it was selfish to force her to look at this any longer, however he didn’t want to endure it alone.
He was grateful when the darkness came over him. The lingering pain the sickness had brought him was always present, however he could handle it in within his dreams.
Hongbin figured the illness must be making his mind foggy, as his dreams currently were more like nightmares. Memories relived in a 3rd perspective.
Hongbin felt truly useless watching the sight. It was the sight his grandmother currently had to look at. Hongbin lie tucked firmly underneath the covers, sweat dripping off his body and his forehead radiating heat in waves. His eyelid’s fluttered as moans escaped past his lips, his body occasionally thrashing as Hongbin chocked on whatever disgusting thing was next.
Hongbin awoke abruptly, leaning over his bed frame and painfully emptying his stomach. ~~~~~
Speaking with Sanghyuk that day, Hongbin felt as if it had opened his eyes. He felt as if he had been introduced to an entirely different life style after learning more about Sanghyuk.
Throughout the day all Sanghyuk had wanted to do was play. Once they ran out of interesting carnival games he was more than eager to make up his own, and Hongbin found he nearly had to scold the boy to get him to stop for a moment. Still Hongbin found the matter really cute, however something odd struck him about it. Sanghyuk loved games, but he never wanted to play alone.
Usual teenagers would rather lock themselves in their room than do anything with others, however Sanghyuk craved companionship. He may by immature, however in many ways Sanghyuk was still a teenager. It was unnatural for him to be so attached to people the way he was, however if Hongbin tried to simply go get food for the two on his own, Sanghyuk would beg and plead that the younger go with him.
Past that, the only thing Sanghyuk may have loved as much as the games was food. It was astonishing how much that boy could eat, and he never seemed to run out of room. Hongbin was lucky he was getting paid, as Sanghyuk had ate away all the cash in his wallet. He ate like a starving boy who had skipped three or four meals earlier.
Overall, Sanghyuk was very cute. Being with him hadn’t felt like babysitting at all, but rather like Hongbin was spending time with a little brother. His traits were that of a teenager, he just handled them in a much younger manner. Sanghyuk himself was wonderful, however Hongbin sensed that something may be wrong with his home life. His first signal: Sanghyuk couldn’t fathom why Hongbin had willing talked to his grandmother so often.
“Hongbin hyung, why are you taking your phone out again?” Sanghyuk managed to squeeze words in between the times he shoveled pizza into his mouth, making the syllables more blurred than they already had been. Still, Hongbin somehow understood the boy.
“I’m calling my grandma.”
“But…..why?”
“So that I can check up on her. It makes her feel better to know that I’m still safe, and this way I know that she’s okay too.”
“But, don’t you worry that she’ll get mad at you?”
“No, why would she do that? Would someone get mad at you if you called them?”
“Maybe. My mommy gets mad for me calling sometimes. She says I’m bugging her. That’s why I don’t call unless I know she’s nice, and I don’t call her mommy in front of her. That makes her mad too.”
Hongbin had needed to take a moment, not understanding why a woman would do such a thing. The fact that Sanghyuk wanted to call his mother mommy was no surprise, and in fact Hongbin had expected no less. Knowing that her son would like that, why would anyone get angry at him for simply doing what he thought was nice? And telling her son that his calls were a bother. It was no wonder Sanghyuk hadn’t mentioned her all day.
“Does you mom get mad at you often?”
“Only sometimes. She gets really mad when I first talk to her, so I go to my room. Sometimes I just stay there all night and try to play by myself, but others she gets nice and she comes in to play with me.”
“Is there anyone else in the house, or is it just you and your mother?”
“Well…hyung is there. I don’t talk to hyung though, he’s really mean.”
“Mean?”
“Hyung doesn’t like me. He gets even madder than mommy does. Hyung is scary when he’s mad, so I avoid him.”
“Hyukkie, has your hyung ever….hurt you when he’s angry?” Hearing Sanghyuk’s description had made Hongbin fear the worst. The words themselves didn’t imply this type of situation, but if things were that way this would be a very serious matter. Given how Sanghyuk acted the rest of the day, he wouldn’t handle a serious thing like this the same.
Hongbin had truly been scared, however his mind was not eased when Sanghyuk immediately avoided the topic. He had just finished his last slice of pizza, therefore instead of answering Sanghyuk immediately stood again.
“Call your grandma fast Hongbin hyung! I want to go play some more!” Hongbin didn’t push the matter any further. He figured there was a reason Sanghyuk hadn’t answered.
“How about I message her instead? That will be faster. What do you want to play?” Sanghyuk spoke as Hongbin typed and sent the message, however the older still listened to every word that he had said.
“Hmmm…let’s go back to the games we played first. Those were the best.” Nodding his head, Hongbin immediately followed behind. Whilst walking, Hongbin couldn’t help but to review the events thus far in his head once again.
Sanghyuk was wonderful, and Hongbin had been surprised to see that he actually was more aware than he seemed. Throughout the day, Hongbin had had a few slip-ups.
There was nothing to a concerning degree, or anything that needed to be looked at any deeper. Simply a few tiny ticks here and there. There had been one point in the day where Hongbin started counting. He hadn’t realized it, but quietly Hongbin repeated the same number phrase over and over and over again. Sanghyuk had noticed and had told Hongbin.
If Hongbin was checking the plates a little too intently or if he wanted things arranged much too well, Sanghyuk was sure Hongbin stopped. If someone around him was coughing or seemed to be sick, the younger walked on that side and made sure they were quickly the other direction. It felt good to see someone other than his grandmother care for him so much.
Knowing all this new information, Hongbin was able to enjoy himself a lot that day. He had had a lot more fun than he had in a long time, and he couldn’t deny that he was going to be sad when it was time for Sanghyuk to leave. Wanting to be aware of when that was going to happen, Hongbin brought the topic up in-between gaming sessions.
“Sanghyuk-ah, right now it’s about 5 o’clock. How much longer do you think we have?”
“Have?”
“Until your mom comes to pick you up.”
“Oh, mommy said just before the festival ends.”
“Really?” Hongbin couldn’t help but be shocked. This was not an event made exclusively for children, therefore it wouldn’t end for the night till very late. Around 11 or 11:30 at night. Hongbin would never have allowed Sanghyuk to stay out that late. “Are you sure?”
“That’s what she said.”
“Well then we have a lot of time!” Hongbin made the topic sound like a very happy thing, and he was happy on one hand. He would get more time with Sanghyuk before they had to part and he was very glad about that, but on the other this supported his theory that Sanghyuk’s mother wasn’t providing a very healthy home environment.
“Yay!” Sanghyuk seemed happy as well, cheering and jumping around about the matter.
“Good. People are going to be performing on the other side of the festival around 6. What do you say we eat dinner, and then go over and watch a few of them?”
“What are they gonna do?”
“Different things. It’s gonna be like…..like a talent show sort of. A talent show that’s just a little bit more professional.”
“Yeah!” Sanghyuk seemed very excited about the idea. Hongbin guessed he hadn’t seen many before. “That sounds like fun!”
“Let’s go then. I have an idea for dinner that I think you’re going to like.” Hongbin smiled, Sanghyuk clearly extremely happy. The two walked away grinning and cheerful.
