their new dawn. | inso's law

02 # airing out dirty laundry; it really stinks

choi joon is trapped in maximum security prison.

well, sort of.

it's a been over a month since choi joon has first arrived, and so far, he's only gone outside (like outside of the house premises) twice. the first time was after his hospital discharge to get food, a literal month ago, and the second was when he met chae ai.

reunited may be a better term, however, that's another can of worms he doesn't want to open just yet.

for now, it's safe to say he's had more sun exposure after trying to die than the entire duration he's possessed and lived in this body. clearly not the best statistics, but what can he do?

a son and brother dying from an overdose is trauma inducing. he can't fault the parents for something like that. although seo-hyun...

choi joon bites the inside of his cheek.

he thinks back to the day of his arrival.

fitfully blinking his eyes like a newborn toddler, he searched for the blinding light with empty thoughts. he wasn't welcomed with white leds and fancy wires—contrarily, it was caramel dripping orbs, soft and filled with plight as they blinked back at him.

seo-hyun sat there momentarily stunned, mouth dripping with words at the tip of the tongue before stitching itself immediately shut. his features were painted blank as he got up.

choi joon watched him leave, nurses coming in fluctuating waves minutes afterwards.

he never returned.

yeah, not the greatest first impressions.

choi joon didn't really know how to interpret that, but mark his words: he tried his best. he really did.

at first, he assumed the relationship between the the original choi joon and seo-hyun was a deteriorating one; therefore, taking to indifferent glances and muted interactions in stride.

however, it wouldn't be long before he was proven terribly wrong, waking up one day to the boy peeling him fruit and then hand feeding him.

it threw a wrench into choi joon's plans as he ate orange slices in utter silence, green eyes forced wipe open as he reconsidered his previous hypothesis.

his next theory was that the two must have, in reality, had an amicable relationship, and seo-hyun was purely emotionally stunted, having difficulty portraying his honest emotions. thus, choi joon chose to act semi-friendly, asking about seo-hyun's day and starting small talk whenever the boy was near.

though, that would also be debunked because as time passed, nothing about seo-hyun's behavior changed. honestly, it probably grew colder; the brunette giving sharp grunts in responses or ignoring the questions in their entirety.

although he never explicitly ignored choi joon, sometimes, he made him feel like a ghost in his own home. (sometimes, choi joon wished he was a ghost if that meant he could ignore the awkward silences that haunted their shadows every time they crossed paths)

it was like having a fever dream; one day he'd act all compassionate and soft; the next, he'd treat choi joon as a total stranger, making sure to put extra walls up between them.

there was also the day he met chae ai, the search to take him home and the odd questions.

it had the raven's head spinning in circles before he just— gave up.

he stopped trying to juggle the riddles seo-hyun kept tossing and merely lived. he'd keep up appearances and greet the other, but he wouldn't try to push further and delve into whatever the enigma their relationship was either.