It Began With a Text

Confession

     Changbin didn't know why he found himself wandering through the city on a Saturday afternoon.

     He had heard the countless warnings against it. It was becoming less safe to be alone, and would continue to be so until those rowdy groups that hung out in the city, taking advantage of the unsuspecting, got caught.

     Changbin could almost laugh at the irony of it all. Here he was, asked to be cautious of the very groups of people he had once been part of.

     So overall, Changbin felt he was safe. He knew the tricks of these people. They figure out your name, try to lure you in with the promise of something important. He wouldn't fall for anything like that.

     He just needed to clear his head for some time, that's all. He'd be back soon, it wasn't like there was anything in the city to keep him engaged anyways.

     "How do you know my name?"

     Changbin froze in his tracks in hearing that sentence. He backtracked to see where he heard that voice from.

     A group of older boys. They were facing an individual whose back was turned to Changbin. A hood covered his head.

     "Because we've been looking for you," one of the older boys said. "Come with us."

     "Um... I don't think I should-"

     "It's fine, trust me, you want to come along," another one of the boys urged.

     "Uh..."

     Changbin didn't need any more proof to see what was going on. Those gang of boys were taking advantage of yet another poor individual who didn't know better. It was the exact danger of wandering alone in these streets.

     Changbin couldn't stop his feet from moving. "Hey, what's going on!?"

     All eyes immediately went to Changbin. "And who are you?" one of the boys asked, looking very annoyed.

     "Me?" Dang it, he had acted too rashly. He needed a plan!

     Thinking fast, Changbin put his arm around the young individual. "I'm his older brother."

     The gang looked very skeptical in this unforeseen situation.

     "You shouldn't wander away from me," Changbin said, addressing the sentence to the boy he was saving, squeezing his shoulder. This would never work if the boy did not play along.

     "Right, sorry... hyung," the boy responded. Changbin gave a silent sigh of relief. He turned his attention to the gang of boys.

     "Look, I don't know how you got his name and I don't know what you want with him, but we have things to do, so he's not going to be coming with you guys." Changbin's eyes went very serious. "Unless, of course, there's a problem."

     The fear immediately went into the gang's eyes. Changbin knew they had no time to mess around here. Thank goodness he still remembered how to be intimidating.

     "Right, there's no problem!" Quickly, the boys scurried away, leaving Changbin alone with the boy.

     Changbin sighed and took his arm off the boy's shoulder. "You shouldn't be wandering alone, kid."

     "Right, I'm sorry. Thank you for helping me!" The boy gave a small bow. When he went back up, his hood fell off his face.

     Changbin gasped.

     It was a face he knew all too well. A face that still haunted Changbin to this day and a face that had been on his mind way too frequently these past few days.

     Yang Jeongin. A reminder of the one thing Changbin regretted the most in his life.

     Jeongin heard the gasp. His face darkened.

     "Oh, you recognized me." He quickly put his hood back on. "I'm sorry to bother you, you probably don't want to be seen with me." And with that, he turned around and started walking; almost running, in the opposite direction.      

     Changbin's heart sunk. He had to do something! Before he could stop himself...

     "Innie!"

     Jeongin stopped cold in his tracks. Slowly, he turned around and examined Changbin's face. The recognition dawned on him. 

     "Changbin?"

     Changbin smiled. "It's great to see you again."

     Ten minutes later:

     "Ahhh, sorry I didn't recognize you. I did only see one photo," Jeongin laughed nervously.

     They were outside a coffee shop. Changbin brought out two drinks and handed one to Jeongin. "Don't worry about it. You don't like going in these places?"

    Jeongin shook his head. "They are really suspicious of teenagers with hoods on. But if I take it off, well... they'll probably become even more suspicious."

     Changbin didn't even need to ask what Jeongin meant by that. "That sucks."

     Jeongin shrugged. "Yeah, it really does. But I've stopped thinking there's anything I can do about it." His head went down. He said the next sentence in a very small voice.

     "Changbin... you believe me when I say none of this is my fault, right?"

     At that moment, Changbin's voice choked up. All he could manage to do was nod.

     Jeongin smiled. "Good. And everyone on the group chat?"

     "They... don't think you did anything wrong either."

     "Thank goodness. As long as some people believe me, I guess that's enough." Jeongin put his head back up again.

     But meanwhile, all Changbin wanted to do was put his head down in shame.

     That shouldn't be all you have to settle for Innie.

     In fact, you shouldn't have to be going through this at all.

     Changbin looked at the boy in front of him, still halfway through high school, with a small smile on his face. He remembered his sadness from before, his visible distress at first having Changbin recognize him. It broke his heart.

     This was the boy whose life was probably ruined. And whose fault was that?

     "Changbin? Changbin, your face is wet, are you crying!?"

     He was! Changbin didn't even realize it at first. But he couldn't hold it in. His head went in his hands.

     "Yeah... I guess. Sorry..."

     "Do you need to talk? I can't say much but I think I'm a good listener," Jeongin said, looking concerned.

     Yet again, the irony. The boy in front of him was the reason for Changbin's guilt. The reason why he hated himself every single day and the reason he was this vulnerable now.

     This was the boy he was going to confess everything to.

     "Innie... there's a reason why I know for sure that you didn't do anything wrong," Changbin managed to say. "Because... I was there. I know the real criminals, the real people who deserve to be behind bars."

     "And one of them... may as well deserve to be me."

     And finally, his story was revealed.