Demon On My Mind

-18-

Any power in Hongjoong's mom's hands evaporated as the groceries fell on the ground. Both Hongjoong and Yunho flinched at the reaction, but it's not that they didn't anticipate such a thing.

"Y-your w-what baby?" She stuttered surprised as she kneeled in slow motion to pick the spilled groceries. Her eyes were cautious when they scanned the tall foreign man.

"My boyfriend, mother" Hongjoong repeated equally cautious. The tomato slipped from his mother's hand at the repeat of his answer. Clearing her throat she smiled, fake smile but oh well; before she signaled for her son to come closer. "Come with me baby" she whispered as she moved towards the farther end of the kitchen.

Hongjoong walked behind her stopping only when she turned around to look at her son. "Hongjoong, baby." She started as she patted his shoulders down. "I'm very happy you got someone in your life but don't you think you're being a little bit too bold bringing your boyfriend in our house?" She asked, emphasizing the word 'boyfriend', he's been a lot of times discriminated for that by his father, and abused. She was scared is all this was.

Hongjoong fiddled with his fingers as he looked at the floor next to his mom's feet. "Mom" he called and her attentive, worried eyes were on him. Looking in her eyes he exhaled loudly before he shot his words.

"Yunho knows" he closed his eyes hardly. There was a big, deafening silence which made him open one of his two eyes. The color of his mother's face was a bit paler as she stared at her son, mouth agape.

"Yunho knows what baby?" She asked with a shaky voice and Hongjoong felt his eyes tearing up. "He knows that dad is hitting us!" He said restlessly and his mother gasped, her hand flying in front of her lips. "Wh- how?" She exclaimed, scared that this could lead to more beatings of her precious son. "Hongjoong if your father lear-"

"He suggested we move out" he spat over his mother's words and then a loud silence followed once again as they started at each other equally off guard. "Hongjoong baby, I know we have money but it's all controlled by your father, you know that. I'm trying to get us out for years..." she mumbled in the verge of tears. Hongjoong instantly wrapped his arms around his mother's shoulder and buried his face in her neck.

"Yunho will help us mom, please he might be our only chance!" He begged, trembling in his mother's warm embrace. "I- I don't know Ho-"

"Mom I don't want to feel afraid to live anymore... I can't live like this. Please" it might have been his words, or his desperate teary eyes locking into hers but she suddenly deflated her resistance as she stared at her son with apologetic eyes. "Sure, baby. You should have a happy life. Let's go" she whispered as she ran a hand over her son's precious soft hair.

Hongjoong's head snapped up at that as he widened his eyes surprised. "What? Really mom?" He shouted, a small relieved smile scratching his lips. When his mother nodded her head Hongjoong sprinted towards the quiet grim reaper who was sat at the couch by now. "Hyung! Yunho hyung she said yes!" Hongjoong exclaimed almost happy that this might be the first step out of their miseries.

Yunho's smile reappeared at the news as he stood up patting the shorter's head slightly. "Well then what are you waiting for? Go grab whatever you want to save from here. We don't have a lot of time." He pointed out reminding the teenager that his father could be back anytime soon.

Hongjoong just got his favorite clothes, his laptop and his charger as his mother packed her own bag. They didn't need a lot of things. They just needed the security of a non painful life. It only took 30 minutes for the mom and the son to come back to the living room and  Yunho stood up, smiling brightly at them.

"Let's go. It will take a bit too time to arrive" he nodded in determination and he saw appreciation in the old woman's smile. She held Hongjoong's hand as she did when the boy was in elementary school and lead him out of the house to the tall stranger's car.

They didn't even look back once; this time they are going to focus on their safety.

A/N

It's been so long I know I'm so busy I don't have the time to write my thoughts 😭😭
It's the last day of the year and I hope you're always happy and healthy.
I am going to see ATEEZ again next month too,
And I got accepted to the single uni I applied to.

It been a hell of a month.

See you soon.

I'll update sooner than this time.