Since I'm the only child, I'm used to being alone or hanging out with the ones who are older than me, Mostly It was hard for me to interact with those who are younger or the same age as me and be active in crowds, So whenever we had a family gathering with our relatives, my cousins often mocked me because I was quiet most of the time, telling me that I'm depressed and not normal... Also, they make fun of me because of my feminine appearance since I'm kinda petite as a boy, and rather than being called handsome, other people usually call me pretty which hurt my feelings and pride so deeply for years to the point that I don't have any self-esteem...
I guess that's why Haru's positive feedback is both remarkable and unbelievable at the same time...
~
As the days passed by, Haru came into my house frequently and naturally grew close to my parents as well... they were really fond of him, maybe because he was a smooth talker and could melt everyone's ice... Soon, Haru was like an extended family member to us. I was happy to see my parents being so open and caring with him. He was always welcomed with open arms, no matter what time of day it was.
However, I wasn't invited to his place until a year later. It was during summer break when he invited me to come over while we were out together. That day, Haru dragged me out to play volleyball with our schoolmates, although I wasn't really a fan of sports...
I was surprised by how well Haru could play. As time passed, I became even more amazed at his skill, and I lost my focus on the play. As a result of staring at him for such a long time, I didn't notice that the ball was reaching me speedily. It was already late when I came to my senses and the ball hit my nose so badly that I stumbled and fell. I could feel intense pain with blood running down my nose.
While everyone laughed, Haru quickly ran towards me and asked if I was okay. He helped me to stand up and lifted my head up. He put his arm around me and took me to the bathroom. He washed my face with cold water and placed a tissue on my nose to stop bleeding.
As a tear fell down my face out of pain, I whined, "It f***ing hurts!... Hooo~~..." He chuckled and said, "I didn't know you could curse, too...". I glared at him and said, "You know it's your fault?!..."
His face was like a question mark. "How is it my fault?!..."
I averted my gaze from him as I got flustered, "ehm~..." I couldn't say that I was busy watching him!...
He leaned close to my face and put down the tissue. "I know you told me you couldn't play, but I forced you... My bad~... Thankfully, it stopped bleeding!... Let's go home now~...". I nodded shyly, and we left. When we were on our way back, Haru asked, "Wanna come to my house this weekend?..."
I stopped walking and looked at him surprisingly." For real?!..."
-"Yep!... Will you?..."
+"Sure~..."
-"Haha... Your eyes are sparkling..."
+"It's because I'm curious about you. I want to know you better but you haven't shown me much..."
He put his arm around my shoulder and smiled, "Since you keep pushing me away all the time, I feel happy now that I realized you're curious about me!~...hehe~... "
I blushed as his face was close to me, I squirmed out of his arm, "That was because I'm always tense around strangers, but we're friends now. So it's different..."
He ruffled my hair, "Wow!... I can die without any regrets now!... My cute Myung called us friends!!!..."
"Hey!... Don't ruin my hair!...I will cancel it if you go on my nerves!..." I said frustratingly.
As a sign of defeat, he raised his hands immediately...
~
I was nervous about meeting his parents for the first time, which I still remember to this day.
They lived in a nice apartment, quite spacious with three bedrooms and a large living area with tall windows... it was brightly lit and had a modern yet cozy feel. The living area was decorated with comfortable sofas and armchairs, and there was a large flat-screen television mounted on the wall.
The kitchen was equipped with all the latest appliances, and the bedrooms were nicely furnished with modern beds and bedding. The walls were adorned with colorful artwork, and the windows allowed for plenty of natural light to come in the morning.
As I arrived at his house, his mother greeted me. She had a serious vibe, unlike his son. His mother had short black hair, warm beige skin, small brown eyes, and thin lips, was a little overweight, and she wore a feminine-style dress.
When we sat down, she bombarded me with questions about my parents, their jobs, etc., without stopping. My mind was blank out of frustration, and l kept answering her questions like an AI robot...
Haru noticed that I was struggling there, so he stopped his mom from continuing, then grabbed my wrist and took me to his room... He glanced at me and said, "I've told you... they're different..."... He was embarrassed, so I told him it was alright instantly. After chatting for a while with Haru in his room, his mom left the house and said goodbye to us. She had already planned to stay the night at her sister's place...
Haru cooked spaghetti for dinner since it's my favorite dish...
The spaghetti was incredibly delicious, which put me in a happy mood after tolerating too much stress...
His dad came home around 9 PM while we were in the living room talking to each other. He walked straight to the bed and asked us not to make any loud noises. His expression was similar to Haru's, but he was very self-disciplined and strict.
I could totally relate to why Haru told me that day about his family not being normal... They gave a strange vibe.
Also, I was always amazed at how they usually slept around 9 PM, earlier than most families. Whenever I tried to call Haru after 9 PM, he never answered my calls so I asked him once why he isn't answering his phone at night and he told me that they were asleep after 9 which made my jaw drop cause my family is literally night owls...
Haru and I are completely opposite, but I imagine that's what drew us together...
We returned to his room with some night snacks after washing the dishes to watch a movie before sleeping. We sat on the floor next to each other.
Haru said, "What genre shall we watch? Wanna see romance?..."
"Nah, I want horror..." I said, then he answered, "I'm OK with it, but I thought you're afraid of scary things..."...
"I am, even though I still like watching them... My dad won't let me see any after I've passed out because of lack of sleep the last time I saw a scary movie... hehe... So tonight I'm eager to watch!..." I answered with a devilish smile on my face...
He said with a sigh while stroking my hair, "You're insane!... just don't regret it later..."...
I said a bunch of crap, but I was scared to death since the movie was too much...
After a few jumps, I tried not to make any noises by shoving my face onto the pillow.. but Haru didn't budge at all. Otherwise, he enjoyed my reactions more than the movie, which annoyed me. He laughed every time I jumped silently out of fear, and I hit him with my pillow whenever he did that.
In the aftermath of the movie, I took the bed, and Haru laid a mattress for himself on the floor... I tried to sleep, but my hallucination started. I kept hearing sounds from the roof...
I told Haru that your house was on the last floor. Why does the roof sound like someone is running up there in the middle of the night?... He calmly answered me, "We don't know either... we got used to it... just ignore it and go to sleep..."...
I was like, "What the heck?!... How am I supposed to sleep when I keep thinking about some ghost or something running up there!!!..."...
Haru had already fallen asleep as soon as he lay down. On the other hand, I was struggling with the noises and cursing myself for watching that bloody movie for an hour...
In the end, I decided to crawl down and stick to Haru without making him wake up. So I had to be quiet and stay next to Haru in hopes that his presence would help me relax and eventually fall asleep.
When I got near him, "What's wrong?..." he suddenly asked which made me so startled that I was about to scream but he put his hand on my mouth and whispered, "My father is going to kill us if you wake him up... why are you awake yet?..."... Then, he pulled back his hand, and I said quietly, " Let me sleep next to you... Actually, I'm scared~~..." ...
I couldn't see his expression in that darkness but he sounded annoyed when he told me that my father was right about banning me from horror movies, but still, he held me in his arms and patted my head until I fell asleep...
Like a sedative, his embrace sent me to sleep.
I somehow liked the way he always took care of me... a strange feeling like an older brother who cares about you and protects you most of the time despite the fact that he was one year younger than me... giving you their attention to you... nothing particular but still heartwarming...
Everything was fine between us for a few months after that visit, like any other friendship. We spent a lot of time together, talking, playing video games, and just hanging out. We shared many laughs and had a lot of fun together. We would often stay up late into the night, talking about our dreams and ambitions for the future. We would stay up for hours discussing our favorite movies or activities. We had a great time together, and it was like we had known each other for years.
~
However, as we entered 10th grade, things went downhill for a while.
Everything started when someday his mother visited our school to get Haru's homework since he was absent due to a cold. She entered our class during break and gathered me and some other friends that she knew Haru was hanging out with. Then she told us not to get in his son's way. He should study so he doesn't have time to fool around with us...
She stared at me and said, "Especially you. Don't let him come to your house anymore... I'd appreciate it if you didn't get close to him... "Then she left without even giving me a chance to ask her the reason...
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